


running high to french-kiss the chaos

by diashann



Series: Stolen Youth [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Multi, STAHP, i can't, stupid, what is this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:51:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1697105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diashann/pseuds/diashann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Fury has a twenty-four year old daughter, who has stayed away for more than one reason. Now, The Avengers have 99 problems and about 95 of them lead back to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. oc cheat sheet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> original character info hub

**Fallon Fury**  ► 24/25 yrs old - Protagonist who is always 'bout that action. She was trained for hand-to-hand combat, in boarding school, at the age of 10 or some shit. She was kicked out of NYU's Science Department for starting a fire and burning a classmate. Fallon had also been marked as absent... a lot. What does she do these days? Stir up trouble with her father's team of superheroes and have her hand-in-marriage be used as a bargaining chip between two old dudes. She has also been known to keep huge and life-altering secrets from her father and those around her that she deems untrustworthy.

 

**Miana "Mia" St. Germain ►** 24 yrs old, BFF to the Protagonist, purely ornamental. Mia is a dance major, attending Juilliard. It's funny, though, because the only time Fallon has seen her do a jig was when she was jigglypuffing away from someone's bullshit. Mia doesn't have any powers and is just a regular degular bad bitch who is dead set on flirting with mostly every hot guy in a ten-mile radius. She's a keeper, this one. No one could get a best friend better. Unless they actually... looked for one that is specifically better.

 

Thayer Halston ► Older? Like 39? Uncle to the Protagonist. He is Fallon's only living relative (not including her father, or including him... go with what you feel). He is the last remaining tie to her mother, Monica, and the life that Fallon can barely remember. He's the answer-man. Whenever Fallon has a question about the fuckery that is her life, Thayer is the guy she calls. Call him, beep him, when she wanna reach him. He's overly affectionate and has graying hair but other than that, there's barely anything amiss with him.

 

Monica Fury ► She dead as hell so her age doesn't matter??? Dearly departed mother of the Protagonist. She was a fierce and mysterious woman, or maybe she was just mean and quiet? If you had to be married to Nick Fury, you'd be the same way. So, no judgement. Monica was also a well-known high fashion model, but she gave all of that up to be a loving mother and a faithful wife. And someone wanted her dead for it. Or maybe she owed them five bucks?? Who knows. It's a mystery.

 

Hilda ► Ageless. The baddest bitch there ever was. That is all. #maidsbelike

 

Richie Baylor ► 24 yrs old. A literal piece of shit. Fallon's betrothed (more like beloathed, amirite?). He's the son of a billionaire(?). Fallon doesn't care how rich he is, her father is literally the guy who orders around superheroes and her bank account probably has more zeros than his. Richie will one day inherit his father's company, Baylor Corp (real original name, I know), but until then he's just a literal human lapdog that follows his dad around. The boy is also the antichrist, pass it on.

 

Richard Baylor ► Like 60 yrs old. He's the billionaire(?) father of that dipshit kid. He owns a ton of companies and used to invest in SHIELD. He wants to marry Fallon off to his insipid vile son so he can create an unbreakable allegiance with Director Fury. He has really grey eyes and it's v intimidating.

 

Oxana Liordottir ► 10000000 yrs old, probably. The wife to the leader of The Fallen who dwell on Asgard (let's be real, though, she's the real leader. when you're the wife of leader, you are the true leader). She is no-nonsense about 98% of the time. All she wants to do is mind her own damn business and help her people fulfill a prophecy to return them to their former glory. But no, she has a caped son of Odin, flying in and fucking shit up.

 

Alek Liorson ► 10000001 yrs old (because you know men always have to try to one-up us). He's the "leader" of The Fallen who reside on Asgard. He's a really down to earth guy (can that saying be used on people who aren't from ear- whatever). He just wants to restore The Fallen to their former glory and impart wisdom onto his students. But the last time he tried to impart wisdom, his crazy ass son (what is it with people and crazy sons?) dipped out via Bifrost, and went to wreak havoc in the universe. 


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER** **ONE**

 

 

She sat nearest to the fireplace, twiddling her thumbs for fear of actually doing something productive. If she allowed herself that privilege she, of course, would enjoy it. If she enjoyed anything, it could be ripped away from her. But that... that was her own fault, in a way. Second degree burns upon a classmate were not to be taken lightly. Rumors were already floating around NYU that she'd been armed with lighters or flamethrowers (ridiculous enough). You'd think college students would have a little more common knowledge of weaponry, or at least common knowledge to boot. But, then again, she wasn't an average college student who just _happened_ to know all about guns and ammunition. No, she was the daughter of S.H.I.E.L.D director, Nick Fury.

 

  
**FURY MANOR**

**MANHATTAN, NEW YORK**

 

  
One Agent Maria Hill walked past the living room, only to backtrack upon seeing Fallon Fury reading by the fireplace. "So, you _are_ home," she said to the technical lady-of-the-house, voice gruff. Fallon glanced up, eyes going wide for an instance. "Yeah... where is he?" Neither of them had to so much as utter his name, they both knew who she was referring to, "He's on the Helicarrier, somewhere over Peru. He should be home in a few days. Are you-" A part of her knew what Agent Hill would ask so she just shook her head before the question was even properly formed. _Was she afraid_? 

  
Her actions were her no one's but her own. She'd somehow done the one thing her father asked her not to do and she knew the consequences would be gruesome to say the least. Maria nodded slightly before changing the subject, "Some friends of your father will be staying here for a few days, waiting until he comes. They have a lot to discuss. It's not often they get to assemble." Fallon's eyebrows raised a fraction, "You mean those freaks from the television?" Maria smirked, trying her best to hold back a bit of laughter, "Something along those lines, yes." The twenty-four year old furrowed her brows in confusion, "Why are you telling me?" The laughter escaped her elder this time and it was almost contageous. Almost. "You're sort of in charge until your father gets here." 

  
"Oh god, please don't tell me you want me to be a hostess or something? I got here to find that Director Fury had fired almost all of our staff except for Joseph, the gardener." She was mid-eye roll when Maria leaned against the wall, chuckling harder than ever before at the younger girl's outrage. "What?! I'm being serious! Maria!" The agent regained control of herself. For all her badassery, she was just a softee on the inside and she'd been in dire need of a laugh. "I'm so sorry, I'd forgotten how funny you are. But .... don't worry yourself about the hosting, I've got it covered." As the S.H.I.E.L.D operative straightened up to wander off and go make preparations, the lady-of-the-house piped up, "Did he send you to make sure I hadn't run off?" Something about Maria Hill became dark in that moment, as she nodded a single time, marching down the foyer a short second later.

 

  
**THAT NIGHT**

 

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Hilda," said Fallon, not an ounce of cheer in her voice as she sat on an island stool in the kitchen. Her thick dark brown hair was tied up for the evening and she donned her navy NYU sweatshirt and some black biking shorts. She chomped on her nails nervously, almond-shaped eyes taking in the German-American woman before her. "It wasn't a problem," Hilda stated firmly as she bustled around in the cupboards, prepping for dinner. "I'm... I'm sorry that he fired you," She spoke the words so softly that the only way she was sure Hilda had heard her was by the way the old woman's figure stiffened. "That was far from your fault. A lot happened the year he sent you away to boarding school. I'm almost certain you don't remember the half of it," Hilda, who had always been a second mother, leaned over and cupped Fallon's face; greenish hazel eyes meeting brown. "After you were gone, Nicholas Fury decided that he didn't need people half as much as he thought he did. Your father is a broken man, you know. You needn't take everything he does to heart, child."

  
Fallon gave a brief nod and the robust brunette released her. It had been eight years since she had seen that wonderful face, eight whole years her father had deprived her from the only mother she'd had since the age of seven. Sometimes she wondered how her heart and mind refused to hate him. Hadn't he pushed her far enough? She was deep in thought, barely listening to Hilda's ramblings about a 'surprise', when a male voice coming from the foyer broke her from her own world and back to her sad existence. "Something smells really good," said the cheerful male voice that she was still trying to place. "I don't smell anything," came another voice, one that Fallon automatically recognized as Tony Stark. "When is everyone else coming?" asked a curious Pepper Potts. A very tired Maria Hill replied, "I have no idea. Barton and Romanov should be here soon. I think Banner is arriving from India tomorrow morning. You're free to wait in the kitchen with Fallon and Hilda, now that you've all seen your rooms."

  
A brief pause. "The kid's here?" Tony asked, partially shocked. "I thought she was jetting off to Paris post-graduation. That isn't for another few months,"added Pepper. Maria said nothing, and as Fallon clenched her eyelids shut in slight dread, she was thankful. "There's a _kid_?" The unfamiliar voice asked, the excitement audible. "Well, compared to you, everyone's a kid." Oh, how she'd missed her Uncle Tony's snark. He seemed like the only person she had anything in common with. He was, without a doubt, the only avenger she'd met aside Natasha. She wasn't too keen on meeting the others. They were trouble-magnets. The whole botched takeover of human-kind only occurred about five years ago. Then there was Ultron, more recently. They were good at what they did, but at what cost? She wasn't afraid to lose her father, per se, she'd already witnessed the fall of one parent. What would it hurt to see the other plucked off; one who didn't even like her, no less.

  
Four bodies made their way into the over-sized kitchen. "Any word from Thor?" Tony asked as if it had only just dawned on him. "Jane Foster held a seminar at NYU the other day, he's already in town. When I have word from the two of them, I'll inform you," Maria spoke in a semi-drone before targeting her words at the two people they were seemingly intruding upon, "Fallon, you feeling up to company?" She wasn't, but she couldn't say that. If anything, she was thinking long and hard about making the most fun of every second she had until her father got home and sold her off to the highest bidder. She turned her stool towards her house guests before pushing off of it altogether. "Hello," she said plainly, eyes travelling to the six feet of blonde hair, buffness, and blue eyes. The unfamiliar voice was, of course, Captain America. Steve Rogers was her favorite hero as a child. She had every comic and when she was seven and Agent Coulson entered her life, the obsession grew way past the point of being acceptable. "That's not a kid," Steve said, more to himself than to Tony who was looking at him with an annoyed expression. Fallon blushed, the color barely seen on her olive skin. 

  
"Oh, skip the formalities, Fury Jr. Give your Uncle Tony some love," Tony opened his arms and the five foot seven mess barrelled straight into them. Tony didn't give affection to many people and that was obvious by the taken back looks on Steve and Maria's faces. Fallon and Tony had created a bond since they met nine years ago and it was mostly due to their winning attitudes, big brains, and daddy issues. "You don't call, you don't write, but you _have_ gotten taller," Tony mused upon releasing her. She playfully punched his shoulder, "One of us had to do the growing, Stark." They stared fondly at one another and Stark gave a fake sigh of fondness before batting his eyelashes. "They grow up so fast," He said, placing his hand over his heart and turning to Pepper. "Yeah... weird," Steve said, looking at Tony briefly before bringing his attention back to the young woman standing before him, "We weren't formally introduced, I'm-"

  
She tried hard to hold in her laughter as she looked at him, eyes slightly wide in disbelief, "Oh, I _know_ who you are." Tony fake-swooned against Pepper who was snickering now, "And LOOK- male suitors, already," he cried out. Fallon rolled her eyes but couldn't help but to detect the faint blush in Steve's cheeks. Maria opened her mouth to say something but was rudely interrupted by the door bell, sound echoing off the high ceilings. "No, I'll get it," Hilda said, shooing Maria off toward the archway on the far side of the kitchen that led to the living room. The fireplace was sure to be lit on a dark and cold New York night like that one and, before Fallon knew what was happening, Maria was off to enjoy the warmth and relaxation she surely deserved. Agent Hill had single-handedly prepped the entire second floor of the baby mansion that hadn't housed guests in decades (as far as Fallon knew). Fallon, on the other hand was busy calling up all of the former staff to work the weekend so that Maria's task wouldn't become a daily thing.

"Should we join her?" Pepper asked half-heartedly, already en route of the archway. "I have to stay here and keep an eye on dinner until Hilda gets back," Fallon stated plainly, a smirk on her face as she watched Pepper and Tony being drawn in like moths to a literal flame. "I'll stay with you, if you don't mind, miss," said a voice from beside her, almost startling her to death. Captain. "You aren't cold... or tired?" She asked curiously, making her way over to the stove, knowing he'd undoubtedly follow. "Not really, no. It takes a lot to get me cold or tired," He said softly, almost in a daze as he watched her stir the pot of stew. She spared a glance over at him and instantly regretted it once their eyes locked. There was something in those eyes... if only she could put a finger on-

  
"HEY CAP!" Clint Barton came barreling up between the pair, earning him a blow to the back of the head from the breath-taking woman behind him. "Hey! Mind your manners, you're in the presence of the lady-of-the-house, you scoundrel." Clint's eyes grew wide as he realized, taking a step back to assess this new person. "Natasha," Fallon breathed a sigh of relief, turning away from the pot she was tending to give her favorite operative a hug. Natasha Romanov had been and always would be a calming presence for her; She was the big sister Fallon had always wanted, always dreamed of. "Hey, you! I see you missed me," The red haired woman chuckled, looking almost unrecognizable in street clothes. A manly hand came flying between the two of them, "Clint Barton, you can call me Hawkeye." Fallon eyed his hand and laughed lightly, "Or not." She and Natasha broke away but the four of them were quickly shooed off to the living room once Hilda returned to the kitchen. "Dinner will be served in forty-five minutes," was all she said. 


	3. Chapter 2

  **CHAPTER TWO**  

 

 

Fallon stirred her spoon around in her bowl, only looking up at the sound of Hilda clearing her throat. The maid gave her a stern look, standing behind Tony who sat at the head of the table. She narrowed her eyes in slight defiance before wavering and taking a spoonful into her mouth. It was good, Hilda was an excellent cook, she was a sous chef in Germany before she came to America but that was many many years ago.

 

"So, what brings you guys to New York?" the youngest person at the table inquired after clearing her throat. She owed it to, not only Hilda but, herself to socialize; she only had a few days of freedom remaining. Steve, who was sat across from her, next to Maria, looked slightly surprised she was speaking at all and as was Maria. However, Clint spoke up first, "Well, it's sort of confidential. S.H.I.E.L.D stuff, I'm sure you're used to hearing that answer, though." Fallon was mid-eye roll when she caught Hilda giving her a look from the dining room archway and thought better of being rude. She set her eyes on Natasha, waiting for the _i'll explain it all later_ look that didn't come this time. If she weren't a fully grown woman, she would've thrown a tantrum. "What brings _you_ home?" Tony lets slip. Fallon fists the napkin in her lap and can almost feel herself over-heating. "A misunderstanding at school. I have to wait until Director Fury gets home to get things sorted out," She lied.

 

"Why do you call him that?" blurted the captain. Though mostly everyone had finished eating at that point, they all halted in their actions to look at the supposed lady-of-the-house. "Out of habit, I guess. Believe it or not, there was actually a time in my life when he wouldn't answer to _father_."

 

 

 

**THE NEXT MORNING**

 

Fallon was on her way past her father's study and toward the front door, wearing her jogging gear, but she stopped in her tracks upon seeing a man standing in there. His glasses were barely hanging off of his nose and he was leaning against the desk with his shirtsleeves rolled up. At first glance, he was kind of scruffy, but underneath...one was likely to find a fairly attractive man in his mid-to-late forties. He glanced up from the illuminated holographic screen, as if on instinct and looked directly at her. This must have been the trigger-angry Dr. Banner. Natasha had told her about him, how he'd scared her and how he had touched her heart.

 

He hid away the screen before she could backwards-read any of the information or data and hustled around the desk to stand only half a yard away from her. "Hey, you must be Fallon, right?" She just stared at him, even after the sound of his scratchy voice filtered through her being. She nodded slightly, stepping into the study now; a room she hadn't set foot inside for the past seventeen years. "You sure do look familiar...hav..have you been to any of my seminars or lectures?" Bruce wondered aloud, eyes almost widened and breath a little ragged. She looked him over before moving a little closer because, in a way, he could fall under the same category as an easily spooked animal. His tie was loosened, his hair was a mess, he clearly hadn't shaved in a day or two, and it was more than obvious that he'd just touched down at JFK within the last two hours. "No.. I don't think so," Fallon finally answered after what seemed like a lifetime. She swallowed thickly before continuing with, "Does anyone else know you're here?"

 

"Natasha let me in a few hours ago," he answered right off the bat. Fallon squinted slightly, "Well, what are you doing in here? This room is off limits." Bruce folded his arms and gave his best attempt at a power stance. Of course, this was her house, that shit didn't work at _just any_ given location. One had to pick and choose. Bruce could tell from the way she stared him down, eyebrow kinked slightly, that he was losing this battle. He'd have to tell her everything now.

 

**MEANWHILE, UPSTAIRS**

 

Tony gave a sigh for the fifth time in a row and Pepper turned over in bed to glare at him. "What?!" She snapped and he looked down at her from where he was sat up against the headboard. "I'mjustworriedaboutFallon," He said in a rush, causing Pepper to squint up at him through the haze that came from her ever-calling sleep. "I'm sorry, you mind repeating that?" She said groggily before sitting up too. Tony sighed and shifted to face her more directly, this stupidly adorable look on his face. If Pepper didn't know any better, she'd swear she was seeing an entirely paternal side of her long-time beau.

 

"We know how Fury can get when it comes to his kid... he's strict, borderline vicious. All I'm saying is that I'm worried about her well-being." He looked down at the comforter that bunched up at his waist, too apprehensive to look into her eyes anymore. Pepper placed her hand on his shoulder trying to ease away some of the tension and she wasn't all too shocked when she felt the light flinch that overtook his form. She didn't have to be a mind reader to know that the Fallon/Nick dilemma hit too closely to home for Tony, he had the same relationship with his father. "Baby, she can take care of herself," came Pepper's soft reassurance.

 

"Knock, knock!" Said a female voice from the other side of the bedroom door.

 

"Go away," Tony shouted back playfully, "we're doing bedroom yoga."

 

"What's bedroom..yoga?" a confused male voice asked in a semi-hushed tone from the other side of the door and Tony rolled his eyes, hopping out of bed. "You stay here, beautiful, it's me they want," he said carelessly, blowing Pepper a kiss before retreating toward the direction of his fellow freaks of nature. Opening and closing the door behind him, he squinted at Natasha and Steve, "This had better be important, guys."

 

Steve smiled brightly, "Your science brother is here." Natasha tried to hold her laughter in by adding, "So are Jane and Thor. Maria is getting them settled in as we speak?" Tony smirked and started down the hallway, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor in his wake. Naturally, Natasha and Steve followed closely behind, "So the gangs all here? Good. Where'd you say Bruce was again?"

 

"I didn't," Steve responded matter-of-factly, "But he's in the study... with Fallon." Natasha and Tony paused, Steve barely taking any notice until...well, he noticed and paused in the middle of the hall, too. "What?" Natasha asked, looking annoyed. Steve had grown very accustomed to that look on his comrade, "Weren't you on Fury Duty this morning? She should have never even gotten within ten yards of the study, let alone _inside_ of it." Steve opened his mouth and then closed it a few times before coming up with an adequate reply, "Actually, no. Clint offered to do it. I actually just got back from a morning run myself, that's why we swapped shifts." Natasha groaned loudly and suddenly, "Are you freaking kidding me?! You guys had ONE job."

 

Natasha stormed off down the hallway in a poised manner, passing a confused Jane and Thor on her way. Tony stood there, staring at Steve and shaking his head in disapproval before following behind Natasha. "How is this my fault?" Steve whined before following too, waving and smiling at the newly arrived couple on his way to the flight of stairs that were sure to lead him directly to the brewing of trouble.

 

"Petty humans," Thor muttered to himself and Jane smiled holding in her laughter. "Do you want to go after them?" He threw his arm around her shoulder and shook his head, "Not particularly, no."

 

 

**DOWNSTAIRS AGAIN**

 

Captain made it down the landing only to bump smack dab into a girl who had just come through the back door in the kitchen. She was tiny, of the chocolate variety, and she was very much on the floor now. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Let me help you up or with your bags or... who are you?" She tried really hard not to yell at him especially since he was being so nice and apologetic and muscular. "I'm Mia," She answered after he'd helped her to stand. He awkwardly attempted to brush her clothing off for dirt or dust and decided almost instantly that it might not have been the best idea when she squinted at him. "Mia? Okay. Do you...do you work here?"

 

She kinked an eyebrow at him, "Is it because I'm black?" His eyes grew wide and he shook his head, "What? No!"


	4. Chapter 3

  **CHAPTER THREE**

 

 

"I'll have you know, most of my friends are...uh...", Steve struggled under the scrutiny of her hard and unrelenting stare, damn near going into full-blown panic mode when a ghost of a smile graced the lips of the young woman before him.

"I'm just messing with you..... _Stu_ , was it?" She shrugged casually, taking in the look of befuddlement on the super hero before her. She knew his name just as well as she knew that her stay at Fury Manor was sure to be anything but dull now that she'd acquired a new play thing.

"It's Steve"

"That's what I said, Stanley," she quipped, walking away before he could say anything further, probably in search of the people who'd bustled past in such a hurry only moments prior. Where there was bustling, there was trouble and where there was trouble, there was usually a Fallon nearby. Especially within the walls of her own home.

 

**MEANWHILE, IN THE STUDY**

 

"...So, what is it that we just walked in on?" Natasha asked again, not seeming to understand as she stared daggers into the guilty party before her.

Tony could barely contain himself as he stood beside Natasha near the doorway to the study, "I believe we walked in on Bruce spilling every dirty little secret because he's scared of a little girl." Bruce glared at Tony from where he was perched atop the edge of the desk.

Fallon folded her arms, her stance almost matching Tony's exactly. "You guys honestly weren't going to tell me that S.H.I.E.L.D hasn't been fully operational since twenty-fourteen?" Fallon pushed off the desk and started approaching Natasha who had probably hurt her the most with all the lack of intel. "I don't see why it matters,"Natasha said sternly, not budging an inch as the younger of the two advanced on her. "Honestly? My father disappears for months on end and I thought it was for—"

Tony cut her off abruptly,"I see where this is going and you're way off base. He's been doing Avengers-related stuff. Everything is basically the same.."

"Minus the intelligence agency from whence you spawned. The very one he dedicated his life to above all else." Fallon shot back instantly. They all grew silent for a beat. "You've got everything mixed up, kid," Tony tried to be soothing and failed miserably. Fallon could feel her heart rate pick up tremendously just at the words _mixed up_ and _kid_. "Don't lie to me," she said, voice raised but nowhere near yelling.

She could feel that all-familiar dull burning at the center of her palms. She tried to reign in her thoughts, anchor them on another course to no avail. Lies, everything they had told her for the past four years had been a lie. Of course, what did she expect? They once lied and killed in the service of liars and killers. She paused, a thought coming to her. It was gone no sooner than it had reared it's ugly head when Mia appeared in the doorway of Director Fury's study.

"Mia! What are you doing here?!" Fallon inquired, her voice the perfect mixture of equal parts dread and excitement. Mia kinked her eyebrow at her long time friend before glancing at each person in the middle of what looked to be a very awkward conversation. "Hilda invited me, said it was urgent. I didn't know you were home from NYU but over at Juilliard we're having a holiday break. I thought... our breaks were always at least five weeks apart."

Fallon ran her hands over her face before sighing, "It's a long story, Mi. I'll explain tonight, before bed." Bruce cleared his throat a little and Fallon had to keep from rolling her eyes at him. She hadn't forgotten any of them were there, she wished like hell that she could, she was just very good at pretending she'd forgotten.

"I guess it's time for introductions," Fallon stated dryly as a wild Steve appeared in the office space, too.

 

****

After introductions were made, Fallon spent a good portion of her day watching Tony and Mia catch up. Tony had been a monumental part of their lives since they met him at a Gala about a year after Natasha dropped the whole Natalie Rushman cover. The two young women had only been girls then, barely in high school. They looked up to Tony on not only and intellectual level but on every level.

Once they had both run out of things to talk about, Hilda suggested the girls go get some air out by the pool, it was probably the last nice day they'd get before thanksgiving rolled around. They obliged the older lady, mostly because Fallon was dying to escape a room full of those people. She once called some of them family and now she didn't know what to think. She could escape them all but she could never escape her own mind.

"So...", Mia started, trying to break the silence as she dipped a solitary toe into the water of the swimming pool, testing its temperature.

Fallon didn't dare to tear her eyes from her own reflection on the surface of the sparkling liquid before her, "So what?"

"What's the deal with you and Cap?" Mia asked casually, boldly submerging both of her feet into the chilly water as she did so.

"There's nothing going on between Steve and I," Fallon said was a small smirk gracing her lips as she turned her head to give her friend a reaffirming look.

Mia smeared Chapstick across her lips before rubbing them together and pulling them apart with a sharp pop. "The way he looks at you, though."

"He looks at you a lot, too. Like he's...," Fallon paused,"..in pain. That means a guy likes you, right?"

A huge Cheshire grin passed over Mia's features as she leaned back on her elbows, kicking her feet. "Hmmm. Everyone looks at me like that. I feed off of making guys like him uncomfortable."

A howl of laughter left Fallon after carefully watching for Mia's reaction and witnessing that face-splitting grin take over. "You're evil, you know that? A piece of work."

Mia laughed too, recovering quickly enough to ask,"What about the other guy? The archer."

"Clint? Dude, no," Fallon shook her head, "He and Natasha were a _thing_ a couple years back but they broke up Christmas of twenty-sixteen, something about Budapest."

Mia paused for a beat, digesting all of the new information she had before diving back into the conversation, leading with,"So, you're basically telling me that you're surrounded by hot guys and you're not boning any of them?"

"You know I don't do that. You don't do that either," Fallon dead-panned.

Mia nodded at her best friend before sighing,"True, but they're making me reconsider. Even Dr. Banner."

"Oh my god, stop," Fallon laughed half-heartedly, kicking water in Mia's direction.

The two kept at the kicking games until a comfortable silence fell upon them. With the mutually welcomed silence, Fallon was slowly drifting back into thoughts about before and about all of the files she hadn't gotten a chance to sift through with Bruce. There was still so much she needed to know. It scratched at her hippocampus, it assaulted her every waking moment, and singed her every memory; She didn't know if she'd be able to sleep again until she knew all of it. "I remember a time when you were a hopeless romantic. What happened to that girl? You used to talk for hours about some guy."

"Wait, what?" Fallon asked, eyebrows bunched in confusion.

"Hey, don't ask me about _your_ love life. Besides, it was like so long ago. We were barely pubescent. I only remember that much because it annoyed the hell out of me to have to sit there and listen to your love problems when the only problems that I had were headgear-related." Mia used her toe to trace slow and deliberate circles into the surface of the water during and after the telling of a resurfaced memory.

"Well, hey," Fallon started, skillfully thinking of how to lighten the mood, if only by a little, while simultaneously trying not to keep her childhood bff out of the loop,"You grew up to be the hottest of us all and now I can be the one to sit back and listen to you talk about men. I'll probably be married off as part of an investment deal soon, anyway."

It was Mia's turn to be dumbstruck, "Wait, what?"

Fallon nodded,"You heard correctly. Bruce told me, it was in his files."

"Just what exactly did you do? Your dad always eerily mentioned what he'd do to you if you messed up but I never thought he had meant any of it."

Fallon pulled her feet from the pool, the fumes of Hilda's famous casserole reaching her nostrils,

"I'll explain it all later, I promise. It's almost time for dinner so we should head back."

 

**MEANWHILE, INDOORS**

 

In the girls' absence, the Avengers laid back, bellies growling at the scent of Hilda's home cooked meal that started to permeate the air. Clint sat idly on the sofa, trying to tune out the conversation taking place in the foyer. He mouthed _"lovers quarrel?"_ to Natasha who was sitting down at the opposite end of the couch. As a response Natasha rolled her eyes, averting her attention to Tony and Pepper, sitting together and canoodling in a chair closest to the kitchen. A ghost of a smile plays at her lips and Clint notices and he can't help but think about all they'd had together, all they'd lost.

Bruce stood idly by the love seat in the room, staring into the pit of the fireplace where, soon, fires would be lit. He felt eyes on him, a predatory instinct he'd had since he and the other guy started sharing the apartment in his brain. He looked over toward the couch positioned with it's back to the foyer and locked eyes with one Agent Romanov. He thought back to their conversation two years ago, on Christmas Eve, he'd told her to follow her heart and here she was wallowing in multiple missed opportunities. Steve came back from the bathroom and plopped down between Natasha and Clint, smiling happily.

Bruce smiled, looked at Tony and Pepper who smiled as well, and then went back to staring at the dead and empty fireplace while trying to get the image of Natasha blushing from the forefront of his mind. He had more pressing matters to think of, something he'd seen didn't add up entirely and it was frustrating him in the slightest way possible.

Just as the group of heroes reached a point of stillness from within, Thor came storming into the room with Jane not far behind.

"Loki has deceived us all."

"Where have I heard that one before?" Tony sassed.

Everyone in the room stiffened, providing their undivided attention to the God before them as he went off on a tangent, of which they all mostly couldn't understand.

"So you're telling me that for four years while you've been living a normal human life here...your brother has been doing _what_?" Bruce interjected, more curious than gob smacked like everyone else in the room.

Thor turned to look at the Doctor behind him, a grievous expression on his face as he delved further into explaining, "Loki has been thrusting tyranny and oppression onto the people of Asgard. Heimdall managed to sneak Sif out undetected, it took approximately four years of planning. Sif found Darcy and Darcy just notified Jane via cellular device."

Natasha moved to sit on the edge of her seat as she ran her hand through her hair and Clint eyed her closely, knowing the stress was setting in as she spoke,"That doesn't sound like Loki. It seems too easy."

"That's what Sif is saying. She thinks Loki will show up here, to Earth," Thor looked pretty close to catching a conniption, Jane close by, trying to bring him some sort of comfort.

"Well, then we'd better assemble," Bruce said plainly, standing from where he was sat on a love seat near the fireplace.

Steve nodded at Bruce's words, a solemn expression on his face,"We're going to probably need all the help we can get. I'll call Bucky and Sam."

"I'll call Rhodey. See if I can't pull him away from up Iron Patriot's ass," Tony said playfully, trying to get a smile or laugh out of Cap as he walked past him and toward the kitchen to make his calls. Tony's expression dulled when he failed miserably at getting a good reaction from his dear friend, eyes meeting Pepper who nodded in understanding and followed Steve into the kitchen to reach out to Rhodey.

"Sif is here to stay, she said she would give her right arm to chop off my brothers head. Darcy is bringing her to us as we speak," Thor said reassuringly to the remainder of his teammates.

Bruce walked over to the coffee table next to the couch and eyed his discarded morning paper, the one he'd purchased at the airport. "Maybe we can even enlist her," he suggested, lifting the paper up for his friends to see.

Natasha turned her head slowly, feeling immediately drained with the bad news at hand. Her eyes widened as she looked between Bruce and the paper he clutched in his hands, "The Phoenix? Are you crazy? No way. No one knows anything about her. She's just some vigilante punk. For all we know she'd be on his side."

"Who'd be on whose side?" Fallon piped up as she and Mia made their way through the archway from the foyer.

"The Phoenix. Front page of The Times. Some are calling her a vigilante, others an activist," Bruce stated plainly, taking pause when he caught the displeased look Tony shot at him out of his peripheral," Have you heard anything about her?"

Mia walked over to the newspaper article and slipped it from Bruce's hand while he was busy looking at Fallon for far longer than he should have been,"She blew up a plant, right?"

Bruce broke the intense staring match with the woman before him and turned his attention to answer Mia's inquiry, "Not just any plant. It was owned by a former S.H.E.I.L.D investor, Baylor Corporations."

Pepper and Steve walked back into the room, only nodding their heads at those who looked upon them for answers as to whether their other friends would be joining the fight.

Fallon watched the exchange and wondered exactly what was happening, she didn't open her mouth to ask because she knew they'd only lie to her some more. Instead, shes walked over and leaned in to look at the newspaper, casually answering the question Bruce left hanging in the air between them, "Can't say I've heard anything about this. I've been essentially living in the dark ages since I got back."

"We encountered her back in Guatemala right, Cap? Saving Bucky's ass from that hidden pocket of Hydra we found trying to fester it's way back into existence," Natasha asked, looking to Steve with wide eyes as he came to reclaim his subconscious place beside her. He'd been gravitating toward her a lot more recently.

"Yes," He answered plainly.

Bruce's curiosity piqued,"Wasn't that little rescue mission in September?" Steve only nodded in response and barely that, clearly uncomfortable about the course of this conversation.

"What was she like?" Pepper asked out of the blue.

"I didn't meet her," Natasha said with a grin, "Cap Did."

"This isn't the least bit surreal for you?" Fallon asked, whispering in Mia's direction. She'd never met an average person who didn't basically implode around the people she called her family.

"No, shh. I'm waiting to hear what happened in Guatemala," Mia said answering quickly, not even looking in the direction of her lifelong best friend, waving the unwanted question away with her hand.

"She was, I don't know," Steve struggled to define the mysterious masked woman he met that day, "She saved my life."

Even Fallon was curious now, "How?"

Mia bit down on her lower lip to stifle an oncoming fit of laughter and the action earned her a scowl from the girl standing beside her in front of the fireplace.

Steve was taken by surprise at what seemed like a request to tell the tale in which he almost lost his life. He was more surprised it was coming from Fallon who seemed to be the least interested person in the room.

"Well, Natasha secured Bucky and I'd gotten cocky; I miscalculated how many men were between them and me; I could have easily taken down thirty-five on my own if I set up everything just right but there were more of them than anticipated."

"Can we get some popcorn circulating up in here?" Mia said lowly, to no one in particular, a smirk on her face.

"If I had Natasha and Buck with me, I'da been fine but there were at least seven city blocks between us, there wasn't enough time. So I'm in the thick of it trying to fight off too many of them and in she just drops in, just as my shield is thrown about seven feet away from me, fists blazing—"

"Blazing?" Jane inquired.

"Actual flames— and She helps me decimate them." Steve finishes with a shrug of his shoulders before sitting back against the couch and weaving his fingers together behind his head.

Natasha rolled her eyes,"He left out the best part."

"Tasha," he warned.

Natasha fixed him with a look to tell him she'd take him down any day of the week, before continuing to spill the beans, "She _kissed_ him. She tried to have her wicked way with him."

"Aren't you dating Agent Carter?" Mia asked, pointing at him now, slightly confused.

"Why do you know that?" Fallon interjected, unknowingly saving Steve from having to answer that misguided question.

"I read tabloids in the check out at Target. I'm human. Shut up." Mia answered, unashamedly. Had Mia St. Germain always been so brazen? It was then that Fallon wished she could just simply get all of her intel from a trashy tabloid. She couldn't, but she'd had Banner at her mercy earlier and she doubted it'd be difficult to get him back there. And if that didn't work, she'd have to start examining the team for weak links, on a scale of police informant to wiki leaks. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly; It seemed like her heroes would soon be MIA altogether.

Agent Hill came darting down the stairs, as if on cue, a wild look in her eyes. "Did I oversleep?"


	5. Chapter 4

  **CHAPTER FOUR**

 

 

After dinner, the team escorted Agent Hill to the library toward the back of the house.

Fallon could only assume some sort of briefing would take place. She thought about getting ears in there, somehow, but there was more to be done first.

While the girls sat on the sofa Hilda was in the midst of making a shopping list, realizing the house hadn't been as stocked as it was when she worked there previously.

"Anything you want to add to the list?" She'd asked, walking into the room with her purse on her shoulder. Fallon looked up and Mia finally stopped rambling on about something her best friend hadn't been listening to anyway.

Fallon scratched her head a bit before answering, "No, I'm fine. Thanks, Hilda." Her answer was a bit dismissive and gave the older woman slight pause. The young woman shot her a look to discourage her from even starting in on anything and, a moment later, Hilda was out the front door.

"What was that about? I thought you wanted to make s'mores tonight," Mia objected in what sounded more like a screech than her actual voice. Fallon shook her head briefly before looking over to her childhood best friend, eyes softening. "I'll pick it up myself. I'm sorry."

Mia opened her mouth to answer but got distracted by a figure hovering near the doorway. "What are you staring —" Fallon's query fell short as she turned to see for herself. Something in her blazed to life, some seemingly foreign and archaic piece of her reawakened at the sight of this strange man with long dark hair. He dropped his duffle to his feet and looked as though he questioned if he'd walked into the correct home.

At Fallon's lack of speech, Mia started in with, "Who the heck are you?" The man opened his mouth, a small twinkle of amusement in his eyes, but no words came. Not from him.

"Buck?"

It was Steve's voice, calling from the end of the hall. The Captain came walking excitedly down the foyer, someone else close behind. When they came into view, Fallon wasn't too surprised that the follower was one Black Widow. "You came," the breath-taking red-head said to the man who was churning up something troublesome inside of the lady of the house. "I'm in need of one of your famous haircuts, as you can tell," the mysterious man replied, his voice making Fallon's head throb as her brain tried to grasp at the breadcrumbs left before her. She stood up abruptly, having been sent into a downward spiral of cerebral pain, heat coursing through her extremities in revolt against an icy cold mind-block that was keeping her from remembering something just at the back of her mind.

The three people occupying her foyer had eyes on her and Steve's face was alight with worry. "Are you okay?" He asked her plainly, moving over to her cautiously. She held her hands up as best she could, eyes shut tight, to ward him off. "I'm fine," she blurted.

From a short distance she heard, "Come on, Bucky. Let's get you cleaned up, there's a briefing in the library that's waiting." The man followed after Natasha down the hallway, up the staircase, and the last words Fallon caught onto was an inquiry about whether he'd known Sam's whereabouts.

Steve positioned himself a little closer to the college-aged female before him, a bit unsure of how to comfort her; how to get her to open her eyes and unclench her fists. She turned away from him slightly and the icy chill within crept down her nasal passages and—

_Ahhh-CHUUUU!_

Steve's eyes widened a bit and Mia, who had been standing there, was no longer on edge; she was laughing nonstop and pointing at Steve. "You should've... You should've seen your face!" Steve looked at her warningly before bringing his attention back to Fallon who still had her back to him. She opened her eyes and waited for every trace of the burning auburn color to fade back to a normal and less-alarming brown color.

"...Hey," he said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. His touch made her straighten up almost instantly, causing her to turn and face him to break the connection. "I'm fine, I just... allergies. Must have come in with your friend," she said almost a little too calmly.

He looked at her, raising one of his brows, slightly enamored, "Bucky, his name's Buck—"

"Bucky Barnes, apart of your squad in the olden days. I sort of guessed that much," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Just how much do you know about me?" He asked, a rosy color creeping up just past the pucker of his v-neck.

Fallon folded her arms defensively, "Well, weekends with Coulson were practically dedicated to learning everything about you. Comics and trading cards galore, if you will. But then again, these days, who doesn't know all about you."

Steve gave a knowing smile, turning a few inches away from her at the sounding of the brass knocker against her front door. Mia stood there, eyes alight at the entire scene she'd witnessed, her hand hiding her wide smile as the good ole captain shot her a disapproving look. "I wonder who that could be," Fallon shot sarcastically as she made her way to the foyer to answer the door, sure that the one they called The Falcon would be standing there on her front porch.

The door swung open and there he was, smiling widely, reminding her of a mischievous character from a favorite childhood bedtime story. "You must be Sam," Fallon said, a small smile on her lips, knowing Steve was somewhere behind her. Something just inside the hallway caught Sam's attention and it took all the strength she had within her not to roll her eyes.

He held out his hand and Fallon just looked at it. Instead, she leaned in and took his duffle bag from the clutches of his other hand. "It's nice to meet you, miss," he said innocently enough but she couldn't help but notice the flirtation that danced in his eyes. "It's Fallon," she said, turning away from him and retreating into the baby mansion, dropping his duffle right next to where Bucky had left his own.

Behind her, Sam was just getting through the door, greeting Steve warmly. Steve shot the handsome man before him a glance of warning before saying, "Easy there, soldier."

Mia came out to meet Fallon in the foyer and to sneak a peek at their newest addition. "Is it just me or is it getting hotter in here," she said, voice dropping a few octaves as she pulled at her shirt collar jokingly. "Any flames will be extinguished as soon as you know who arrives," Fallon said dryly, pulling out her iPhone from her back pocket. Mia shook her head a little, eyes still on the two muscular ex-soldiers by the front door, "No, he'll be way too busy dealing with whatever this is to have time to scold you."

"That's what you think," Fallon said slowly, clearly distracted as she sifted through her contacts, turning away and putting her phone to her ear once the number was dialed.

The phone rang out on the other line and she made a beeline for the kitchen where she'd surely have privacy. She heard Mia engaging in conversation with Sam and Steve as she walked away so she didn't have to worry about any interruptions. The line clicked, indicating that the contact picked up. Fallon could make out steady breathing from the other line and decided it was on her to break the silence, "Thayer?"

 

**MEANWHILE, IN THE LIBRARY**

 

"What do we know so far?" Tony asked, staring at Thor, an almost undetectable touch of unease about him. After Ultron, Tony had never been the same.

Thor paced in front of a large round table, shelves and rows upon rows of books at the backs of his teammates. "There isn't much that I do know, only that I've been fooled. Loki never died at the hands of Malaketh and his men all those years ago. Sif claims he has my father captive, she also says that something has caught his attention and he's on the move to Earth."

Jane came back into view from behind bookshelves. "I have Darcy and Selvig on standby, scouring for any anomalies across the globe. If Loki shows up, we'll know," she said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Hopefully none of this is as catastrophic as last time," Pepper says.

"And by last time, do you mean Loki's last invasion or Ultron? Because I'm pretty sure that on a grand scale, each attack is worse by miles, no better than the last," Clint stated, more than a little miffed.

"He has a point," Maria said, looking at Pepper pointedly.

Thor stood there, in front of an inactive new-age projection screen, a pensive expression gracing his lovely features. "I'm just worried about my father," he said upon noticing everyone's eyes trained to him.

Natasha entered the room, a clean cut Bucky Barnes at her side. "What did we miss?" The golden girl of the group said, green eyes full of wonder. What had Loki done this time? In the past, Natasha had been the only operative to get the drop on The self-proclaimed God and rightful King of Asgard.

Tony rotated in his swivel chair to get a look at the two entering from the door on the left of him, just a bit out of his peripheral. "Someone cleans up nice," Tony said absently.

Natasha walked fully into the room and took her place at the round table, glaring over at the inventor, "Tony."

"No, I like it. A little less Cast Away, a little more Ryan Gosling," Tony winked at Bucky as he claimed the empty seat between Tony and Maria. Bucky ripped a piece of paper out of the notebook before him on the round table, scribbled on it with a nearby pen, and slid it across the table to Tony. "Call me," he said, absent-mindedly staring ahead towards the God of Thunder, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Tony rolled his eyes and balled up the piece of paper, throwing it across the room at Natasha. "Hey! We're supposed to be on code green and you're acting like a child."

Tony scowled at her, "You're just mad because I have good aim."

"You have twelve percent of good aim," Pepper muttered from beside him.

"Seriously?!"

 

**MEANWHILE, IN THE KITCHEN**

 

"Fallon?"

She couldn't help the feeling that overtook her, hearing him say her name. For years, she wanted to call. Sometimes she did, only to hang up when he answered. He was the only real piece of her mother that she had left.

"Yes. It's me."

He sounded relieved on the other line, and her heart swelled. "You sound just like her," he said, almost breathlessly. Tears sprang to her eyes and she fought to hold them back as Hilda entered the room, Mia close behind.

"Listen...I Uh, need to see you. Could you meet with me?" Fallon said quietly, turning her back from the two chattering women. There was a long pause before he replied with, "I'm sure I could arrange that. Where and what time?"

Fallon bit her lip, thinking long and hard. A lightbulb clicked on almost immediately and she turned to face the women who were hovering more than putting away groceries. "The spot we met all those years ago. The bench, remember? In two hours."

His smile was almost audible. "That sounds perfect. Though, I don't really want you to go that far at that hour..."

"You and I both know I'll be fine," she said, hoping he caught her meaning, hanging up a second later.

Mia sidled up beside her, "Who was that? Sounds like you're planning a saucy rendezvous, either that or a super covert meeting."

She laughed lightly, watching as Mia's eyes widened at the prospect of juicy gossip. "It was an old friend. But, in saying that, I do want to apologize to you."

"What for?" inquired the five foot ball of sass, resting her chin in her palm.

Fallon sighed half-heartedly, "You haven't even been here a day and you've had to deal with nothing but craziness." Hilda set a bowl of fresh grapes in front of them and Fallon picked at them, plopping a few in her mouth. "I like craziness," Mia retorted before stuffing five grapes into her mouth.

"Thank god those are seedless," Fallon said sarcastically, "otherwise you'd choke."

Mia swallowed the grapes, a scowl on her beautiful face, "it'd be sad to die from choking on grapes, especially in this house, where the options of what to choke on are way more exciting."

Fallon fixed her with a look before edging off her stool, "I'm going to go shower and change, I've been wearing these running clothes for far too long. You gonna be good on your own?"

Mia laughed lightly, "I'm always good, and I'll probably just help Hilda with dinner ideas for tomorrow. Don't worry so much, I'm here for your entertainment, not the other way around."

Fallon smiled, hugging her friend before leaving the kitchen, a million thoughts spinning around in that head of hers.

 

**IN THE LIBRARY, AGAIN**

 

"All we can do is wait, at this point," Maria said, on a more serious note, after Tony was done showing off his idea of coping with whatever hell Loki was about to unleash upon them.

Thor sighed heavily, ready to argue, but Jane was at his side immediately, "She's right, baby," she said softly, her hands finding his arm, hoping to comfort him.

"I can't believe this is happening again," groaned Natasha, head in her hands, "I wonder if Nick has any idea."

Tony shifted in his chair, probably crossing his legs, "I doubt it. He's been in Paris for how long?"

"Well, he'll be home soon," Pepper piped up.

Steve and Sam entered the room, and Bucky got up and walked over to them. "I'll brief you both," he said, hoping to spare everyone else the trouble of having to hear everything all over again.

"Who's to say, he'll even help us," Bruce said almost breathlessly, rubbing his hands down his face as though the action alone could expel the stress he felt coursing through his veins.

Everyone in the room grew silent and looked at him. Really looked at him. It was in that moment that they realized he had a point. This was getting old and all of them may not make it out this time around.

"Nick wouldn't abandon us, not now," Natasha said with conviction that could scare the fur from a kitten. "And even if he did, this isn't our first rodeo."

 

**IN FALLON'S ROOM**

 

Fallon stood towel-clad in the middle of her childhood bedroom. It wasn't until Maria showed up that she actually started sleeping in there again, she couldn't. There were too many memories, it felt like. The entire home was poisonous, not even the ghosts of the past would dwell there.

There was just something about that stupid room. She felt it, she's felt it since she was seventeen, but she couldn't quite place what it was and that gave her pause; it made her want to stay as far away from it as possible. Her bedroom felt like the stuff of nightmares but when she looked at it, it was the same as it had always been. Lilac walls, desk, Queen-sized bed with an antique bed frame, the dollhouse her mother made for her in the far corner next to the full length mirror where she caught a glimpse of herself. She looked pale and confused.

"Get over yourself, girly. You've got to get dressed," Fallon whispered, her words aimed at her reflection. She turned around and headed to her walk-in closet, sifting through options for her late night meeting.

After about thirty minutes of indecision, she settled on A long-sleeved black dress and black knitted thigh-highs. She added her mother's golden locket, the one she hadn't been able to open for years, for accent and put on her hand-me-down black combat boots.

"You can do this," she whispered to herself before grabbing her red bomber jacket and heading for the door. She slipped her cellphone into her pocket on her way down the staircase after texting Thayer that she was on her way out of the house.

Her neat ponytail bobbed as she went down the stairs, and upon making it to the landing, she earned herself a whistle from the living room.

"Where are you off to?" Maria asked, the concern in her voice evident.

Fallon shrugged a bit, "I've got a date."

Bruce eyed her curiously, and she met his eyes with equal curiosity, before he went back to the book he was reading.

"We're on high alert right now, maybe you should stay in," Natasha stated plainly from beside Steve. 

She sighed at Natasha's statement before looking at Tony for back-up, "Why not let her go," he tried weakly.

"Gee, thanks for the enthusiasm, Stark," Fallon groaned. "Look, I'm just going to be out for an hour and thirty minutes tops. Most of you had no idea I even existed until a few days ago, I'll bet that whatever villain getting your panties in a twist doesn't know about me either. And if they do, I can handle myself."

Everyone was silent. "You look hot," Mia piped up, coming through the archway that led from the kitchen, "Who's the guy? Anyone I know?"

"Fletcher," Fallon said hesitantly before making her way to the door and out of it before anyone else could question her.

"All the man candy here and she goes out on a date with _Fletcher Frye_. I am truly worried about her, now," Mia complained, out loud, to no one in particular.

 

**CENTRAL PARK, 9:45 PM**

 

"You came," he said gruffly, excitedly, as he came to a stand from the standard park bench on which he was sitting.

He moved closer to her and as he came into the illumination of the streetlight just overhead, she could see him more clearly, it was as though he hasn't aged. The only indication that he had was the sliver of gray hairs in the front of his gelled up hair.

She moved in for a hug and he happily obliged. "Of course I did, I had no choice. I need your help." 


	6. Chapter 5

  **CHAPTER FIVE**

  

 “Are you worried about her?” Maria asked, to no one in particular, after a slight pause.

Mia shook her head and went to sit beside Bruce. Natasha huffed a bit, tucking an errant strand of her own fiery hair behind her ear. “We have bigger things to be worried about than a fully grown woman going out on a date,” The former-Russian said.

“ _Oh?_ ” Mia asked curiously.

Clint shot Natasha a scornful look. The dancer caught the exchange and probably figured she'd seated herself right in the middle of something she shouldn't be anywhere near. No one responded to her inquiry so she took that as a their collective yet silent request for her to exit the room.

“I'm just going to go... yeah... over in the.... place with the thing,” she said awkwardly before getting up and walking toward the staircase, heading straight for her room. She'd kill Fallon for leaving her alone with those people. They all reminded her of Jason Statham, if Jason Statham was _on crack_. Or basically his character in _Crank_ ; they were all a bit self-destructive, to say the least.

The college student's absence weighed heavily on the superheroes; they weren't sure if they could resume their conversation or not. Bucky started to open his mouth but before he could say anything, a very loud voice cried out following a **bang!** from the front door. “ _Wow_ , you weren't lying when you said you'd kick the door in!”

Thor's frame stiffened and Jane face-palmed; they'd know that voice anywhere. _Darcy_.

Sif came into view looking like she wanted to kill someone and Thor stood up immediately. Darcy was following closely behind the almighty Asgardian badass, eyes wide and wearing an expression of excitement. “Lady Sif,” Thor started, only to receive a sharp smack across his face. He looked shocked at first but then allowed his dear friend to speak, “I am no Lady anymore, and that was for abandoning your people for the sake of this god-forsaken realm!”

Darcy couldn't help but to burst out laughing, “ _Oh my god!_ What is it about your face that makes women want to slap it?” Thor fixed his girlfriend's intern with a look that was meant to silence her but it only made her laugh more. She covered her mouth with her hands and side-stepped until she was out of his sight. “Sif, I had no idea –” Thor started but she shot him a look that could kill, making everyone in the room question which one of them was royalty.

“You surely did not. And if you think your brother is bad, then I can't wait to see how you'll react when I tell you that Ragnarok is upon us,” Sif said, young and beautiful face looking aged and afraid. Thor looked at her disbelievingly, “It can't be, it has to be one of Loki's deceptions.” Sif shook her head, knowing he'd assume that. “No, it is happening. Why do you think Loki is coming to Midgard? He thinks there is a way to fight and he is coming here to find it,” she rasped, going to slouch down on the loveseat beside Bruce.

Thor ran his hands through his hair and looked to Jane who was paling within an inch of her life. “Rag-na-what?” Darcy asked, more than confused. “What she said,” Tony piped up, wanting to know also.

“Jane, call Selvig,” The God of Thunder droned, not meeting her eyes before continuing with, “Ragnorak is essentially the end of our people,” in order to answer both Tony and Darcy. “It's Thanos,” Sif said, eyelids hooded, showing the four years of grief and abuse she'd faced down. Thor raised an eyebrow at her, “But how?”

Sif sat up and looked at her old friend, the one she'd held resentment toward for all those years, “There are rumors that it was Theoric of the Fallen who spread word of Loki's rule to Thanos, exposing Asgard's weakness.”

“Theoric?” Odinson asked, a bit confused as to who she was referring to.

Sif nodded her head, “Yes, you know. The man who lives on the outskirts of the city limits, all alone. He is not of Asgard, he and half a dozen others, they are of The Fallen world. By now, there are barely any pure-blood Fallen left. Your grandfather allowed them to live in our realm since their world was a casualty in his battle with Malaketh.”

Thor folded his arms and pondered what she'd said before asking, “What world was that, again?”

“Trulèikheim,” she muttered exhaustedly.

  

**MEANWHILE, IN CENTRAL PARK**

 

Fallon stared into the eyes of the man before her, waiting for him to tell her to fuck off. She didn't expect a smile to light up his entire face as he stepped toward her, arms outstretched. He embraced her and she just let him, a bit confused with what was happening. “Uh..”

He let her go immediately, sensing her discomfort. “Sorry,” he said, that stupidly genuine smile spread across his face, “I just always sensed that one day you'd come to me.”

She raised an eyebrow at the man in front of her before inhaling sharply, continuing with, “Well... you're the only person who understands what's going on with me. You're her only remaining relative and so, I know you get the whole... _mutant_ thing.” Confusion glossed his picture perfect features, blue eyes scanning her face.

“I... I'm sorry?” He asked, genuinely confused.

Fallon paused, “Well, I just....I assumed this was a trait from my mother's side. Uncontrollable rage and then there's... the _fire_.” She pulled her hands from her pockets and held them out to him, channeling all of her energy into showing him what she meant.

Her eyes were shut tight and she didn't open them until she heard a gasp escape him. She opened one eye first to peek over at him. He was smiling, snapping one of his fingers to show her how he could light up, too. She smiled, overly excited, causing her flames to extinguish. “It really only happens when I'm angry, otherwise it drains me completely.” As if on cue, she started to sway a little and Thayer pulled her over to the nearby park bench. “Well, I can tell you,” He said, breathing a bit labored, “It tires me out, too. But, you definitely get the powers from your mother's side, it's just the uncontrollable part that confuses me.”

“Why?” Fallon asked innocently, eyes wide as she looked at him. He stared at her like he was remembering something, biting his lower lip before answering with, “Because, from an early age... we were always able to control every aspect of our gifts. Your mother was a master at manipulating time, among other things, she would probably still be here if she'd seen her death coming.”

Her eyebrows raised, “Wait, my mother didn't...she didn't have fire like I do?”

Thayer shook his head, eyes softening as he sat there, an arm around her casually. Fallon didn't notice enough for it to bother her, she was too busy battling with the icy mind block nestled right next to her hippocampus. Why couldn't she remember when there was such a big part of her rallying for her to do just that? "And we aren't mutants, either..." He started, only to be cut off by her.  
  
“I should go,” She said, finally, standing abruptly. Though she had gained all the information she needed, this night had taken a turn for the worst. “Fallon, wait... I can tell you that if there's something blocking you or making it difficult to control yourself, it could come from your father's side. Ask him about your older siblings, ask him about The Infinity Serum,” he said to her, tone of voice taking a turn for ominous as he stood up from his seat on the park bench. She considered his words, looking at his face for any traces of a lie-tell; she couldn't find one. “Okay,” she said softly before nodding a single time.

She walked off in the direction of her home, not once looking back at the Uncle she'd left behind. Her mind was completely jumbled, she couldn't quite grasp anything. A thought would come to her and then be gone just as quickly and it was in her daze that she didn't notice the figure who grabbed her arm and pulled her off into an alleyway.

She didn't scream because her attacker had her up against the bricking of a home that was just a block away from her own and she could see his face clearly enough to know who he was. “You... are going to escort me to your home and you are not going to make any protests,” he said, voice laced with ill-intent. Fallon just stared into his eyes and knew, almost instantly, exactly what he wanted. She nodded and he removed his hand from her mouth, a serpentine smile spreading across his face as he jerked her from the alleyway. They made their way down the street, arms linked, and to any outsider they looked like a couple. His guise would fool her if she didn't know exactly who and what he was; Loki, The God of Mischief.

They reached the outside of the estate which curved into it's own little cul-de-sac away from all the other nearby houses in the neighborhood and Fallon approached the gate that probably automatically locked about ten minutes ago. She leaned into the call box for a retinal scan and once she was cleared, the gate opened easily. “I sure do love a cooperative hostage,” Loki purred and she wanted to hit him, but she was betting he didn't know that he was walking into an ambush; she was positive she'd get to deck him across his face soon enough.

Upon reaching the front door, the duo noticed it was slightly ajar and Loki kicked it lightly, walking in and dragging his damsel right along with him. Fallon was lucky enough to be able to move her foot in order to slam the front door shut, alerting The Avengers and Friends of her presence. Loki gripped her arm and pulled her closer to him, “You'll pay for that,” he hissed before Sam was able to sneak up and hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious.

“And that is exactly why we didn't want you to go on the date,” shot Steve.

Fallon smirked at him, “I handled myself, didn't I?”

Loki groaned on the floor and Sam poked at him with his foot, “Shut up, you.”

The lady-of-the-house raised her eyebrow in mock interest before saying, “I'm going to bed.”

Natasha scoffed, “You get snatched by Loki and now you're just going to head off to bed like nothing happened?”

“Because _nothing happened_ ,” She said pointedly, emphasizing every word. After that, she retired to her room where nightmares of Loki capturing her in a subway plagued her. The hellish images that burned behind her eyelids were so clear but she never expected what cropped itself into her unconscious mind next; Loki turned into Bucky... and a bright red star teased her as she heard screams, her mother's screams.

She shot up in bed, drenched in sweat and decided it was time for a late-night cup of water. Hopping out of bed, she tiptoed all the way down to the kitchen. The house was quiet, too quiet, and she hoped like hell that none of them were sleeping because she wasn't exactly feeling one-hundred percent safe after the nightmare she'd had. After pouring herself a nice glass of water she flicked on the kitchen light and turned to find someone sitting at the kitchen island, watching her.

“Bad dream?” The man said, making her want to leap from her skin.

“ _Loki_...” she gasped, free hand clutching at her chest while the other held her glass full of water.

He smiled at her and it made her head throb, “I wasn't aware we were on a first name basis.” Fallon rubbed circles on her forehead, trying to soothe her sudden onslaught of cerebral pain, but it wasn't helping her any. “We're not,” she snapped, absently wondering why they'd let him roam free in such a way. He was dangerous.

“You are a curious creature, aren't you?” He purred, eyes scanning over her bare legs. She cursed herself for wearing shorts to sleep in a house where a psycho roamed free. God only knew what he was capable of.

“Fallon?” called a curious voice from the hallway and she allowed herself to look toward it, a few seconds later Steve appeared. “What are you doing up?” He asked, concern etched on his face as he wiped his hands with a cloth. She stared at the cloth in slight shock, blood was all over it. Whose blood was that? She silently looked back to where Loki had been only to find he was no longer there. “I...I was just getting some water,” she replied sheepishly, “I couldn't sleep.” Steve looked at her knowingly before stepping closer to her. Though his stance was completely non-threatening, she couldn't help but flinch. He gave her a small smile for reassurance, “Want to talk about it?” She shook her head.

“I will probably just go and take an aspirin and try to sleep a little more. Fury will be home sooner than later and you all have your hands full with... you know.” He nodded, respecting her need for space. “Well, if you need anything... I'm here.”

Fallon paused, eyes raking over his form, “And where is that, exactly?”

“The library.”

“Is that where _he_ is?” She asked, voice tinged with a touch of apprehension.

Steve nodded a single time before looking down at his blood-stained hands, “That's where we all are.”

 

  

**MEANWHILE, IN THE LIBRARY**

 

Loki regained consciousness as Sif's fist connected with his face. He groaned and then spit some of his blood onto the floor. “I can go on like this for a very long time,” She threatened, causing him to look up and glare at her, cuts and scrapes all over his porcelain skin. “I've told you everything I know, _Lady Sif_.”

She sneered at him and wound her hand back for another swing but before she could hit the self-proclaimed God before her, Bucky stopped her. Sif eyed him harshly before her gaze softened, looking around the room to take in the sight of every other person who had gotten their hits in. Just about everyone got the chance to take their frustrations out on Loki in an attempt to gain insight, everyone except Bucky.

“I've got this,” Bucky said to her reassuringly, winding around his bionic arm in preparation. Loki's eyes widened and he looked to his brother for a line of support. Thor looked back at him in a disinterested manner, “I told you, brother. If you betrayed me again, I'd kill you.”

Tony clapped a hand on the God's shoulder to silently comfort him but it only made his frame stiffen further, “I'm going to find Jane and Darcy to tell them of our progress, just clean up in here when you all are finished. Hopefully, the two of them have gotten Selvig on a flight here... one that preferably beats Fury's.” As Thor stood up to leave, Bucky reared back to deliver his first blow but Loki screamed, “WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!”

Everyone looked at him surprisedly, but Natasha only smirked. “Spill it, Peter Pan,” The operative said a touch of disgust in her voice. Loki gulped, eyes wide as he looked at Bucky's shiny silver fist mere inches from his face. “There is.. one thing,” He said, pausing soon after. Cap came back into the room at this point and was confused as to why everyone was quiet and no one was hitting their captive. “Out with it,” Bruce yelled, a bit uncharacteristically putting Loki on edge even more. “Theoric The Fallen, he was able to... slip through the bifrost before I shut it down, that was four Midgardian years ago. After much persuasion, Heimdall informed me that Theoric is here but it was difficult to see him. We chucked that all up to Thanos' influence, if anyone knows all about that it is me.”

Thor's eyes softened momentarily, returning to their hardened state soon after. Bucky eyed the God questioningly before earning a nod, indicating that he could continue with what he'd been doing previously. Bucky reared back and his silver fist tried to connect with Loki's face but some unseen force stopped it. At this point, everyone was standing on their feet, curiously. A dark figure exposed herself to them from beneath a shimmery cloak that had momentarily made her invisible to the naked eye. She glared at Bucky from behind her black mask as if to chastise him for his behavior. “What are you doing here?” She said, seemingly to Bucky but then she turned slightly, eyes on Loki. Bucky snatched his wrist away from the mysterious woman and backtracked to stand united with The Avengers. Cap came fully into view and beheld this creature of wonder; it was _her_.

“ _You_ ,” he said, almost breathlessly.

 She held up a finger to him to keep him quiet while she waited for Loki to answer her, “You told me this is what must be done, so here I am, in all my glory.”

“You're tied to a chair,” she dead-panned.

Loki narrowed his eyes as he looked up at her. She sighed and took out a knife.

“Please tell me you're going to use that on him,” Clint said dryly.

The Phoenix shook her head before using her blade to cut the bad guy free, “No, but I will use it on you if he ends up tied up and beaten again.” Loki stood uneasily and dusted himself off. Bruce was the one to speak up next when he asked, “How are you involved in any of this?” She smirked at him, turning to face them all more directly, “I'm involved in _everything_.”

She turned to look at Loki, half her body disappearing and reappearing underneath the guard of her cloak. “You need to do this right,” she said warningly, “I've laid all the groundwork... I just need you to act like anything other than the idiot you've become. Can you do that?”

Loki nodded a single time and with a flip of her cloak, she was gone again. The window on the far side of the room opened, indicating her escape.

No one said anything.

The God of Mischief clapped his hands together once and said, “Soooo.... answers, then?”

Sif and Thor narrowed their eyes simultaneously.

 

 


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

 

Fallon woke up to the smell of a glorious breakfast, but after last nights “abduction” she had decided to give Hilda the day off, so the fact that someone was actually cooking piqued her interest. She easily slid from her bed, taking the time to at least throw on a pair of sweatpants this time. Her tank top was probably totally acceptable so she didn't bother throwing on a sweatshirt, too; it wasn't cold enough for that yet, anyway.

On her way down the stairs, she listened closely. Though she heard the clinking of select dishes and pans against the stovetop, she heard no talking whatsoever. She decided it was time to be brave so she went into the kitchen boldly, no longer using caution like her instincts told her to. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head at the sight before her. Steve and Sam were making breakfast, Bucky Barnes was pouring orange juice and apple juice and Loki was sat at the kitchen island just like the night before. For some strange reason, she gravitated toward him, her mind-numbing headache hitting her at full-force. The skull-splitting, however, didn't stop her from reaching a curious hand out to touch him. Before her palm even landed, he had turned his gaze onto her, eyebrows furrowing in a questioning manner but she could see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“Fallon?”

She snatched her hand away like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar and faced the source of the spoken words. “What...are..,” Natasha was so confused she couldn't even finish her line of questioning. Steve, Bucky, and Sam were all staring at her, wondering what the hell she was doing, also. “I was...I was just seeing if he was... he was real,” She said, slightly flustered. Moving away from Loki as quickly as she could, she made her way over to the stove so that she could get a good look at the individuals sitting at the dining table. There'd been new arrivals, one of whom was chatting animatedly with Mia. Fallon felt like she'd fallen into the twilight zone.

Steve stepped into her space and she flinched, “What the hell is...” She waved her hand in the general direction of the weirdness that was taking place. In her case, that happened to be, all around her. He looked down at her, brow creased, “I'll explain it to you later.”

He moved to walk away from her and she pulled him back, nails digging into the exposed skin of his bicep. “No, I say that to people all the time so I'm fully aware that what _I'll explain it to you later_ really means is  _I'm never going to tell you because you wouldn't understand_.”

Steve stared down into her eyes for far longer than he should have and Loki cleared his throat from behind them. Fallon unhanded him, muttering an apology before going to get ready for her morning run. “Aren't you going to eat?” Maria asked her as she passed by, clearly miffed with the entire lot of them. Fallon didn't answer.

Mia swirled what was left of her food around on her plate. “She'll be fine,” she said, trying to comfort Maria, “I'd go talk to her, but I'm sure in her current state, she'd only yell at me.”

“That's what I call hands-on friending,” Darcy said before taking a sip of the coffee that was as black as her soul. Loki came to sit down at the table, on the other side of Mia, in his regular green t-shirt and black sweatpants. “Why does he have to sit next to me?” Mia said, groaning inwardly. Loki shot her his most charming smile before being slapped on the back of the head by Thor, who was sitting on the other side of him.

“I have done literally nothing wrong,” Loki hissed in response to being struck. A brief moment later he asked, “Where's the bathroom?” to no one in particular. When no one answered him, he got up to find it himself. Thor gripped at his wrist, “Relax, brother, I'm just going to check out the damage to my face,” Loki droned. Darcy snorted, “Honey, you look like a walking corpse.” Mia tried to hold in her laughter but failed miserably. Loki rolled his eyes, being released by Thor shortly after.

 

 

**MEANWHILE, UPSTAIRS**

 

Fallon had just changed into her running clothes when she'd ended up in the bathroom, brushing her teeth thoroughly, searching for something to take her mind off of her inability to piece everything together. She was mid-brush when she seriously debated calling Thayer but she thought better of it at the last minute. Being so distracted kept her from noticing the extra person in the spacious bathroom. She dropped her purple toothbrush in the sink and turned around to face her captor.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Is this not the bathroom?”

“I'm in here, right now, _get out_.”

There was a long pause and neither of them said anything, they just stared at each other.

“ _Please..._ ” she whispered.

Loki couldn't help but smile at her well-mannered request, however, he didn't plan on budging any time soon. “I can't do that,” he said so softly she wasn't sure the words had come from him at all. Her eyes widened as he took a step closer to her and she instinctively took a step back, trapped by the sink.

“What do you want?”

He shook his head a bit, looking everywhere but at her. By the time he closed the gap between them, he was staring straight into the mirror behind her. She gasped as their bodies were a breath apart and then... _weren't_. Loki touched wound after wound, hissing as if she weren't even there nestled between his body and the sink. Finally, he looked down and acknowledged her presence, acknowledged the fear in her eyes. He gave a sigh of relief, that she didn't think she'd ever understand, and then he gently stroked her face with his hand. “You'll remember,” he said to her softly, almost wistfully, right before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Fallon winced, too afraid to struggle. No matter how many times he got her in this position, she never struggled... there was a part of her that wondered why. He pulled away from her and gazed down upon her confused face. “Remember what?” She whispered up to him, almost too afraid to ask. He smiled at her again and it was so unlike him, so unlike the things she'd heard about him, that it unsettled her. “How does your head feel?” He said simply, trying to remain the man he'd become instead of the man he used to be. That was when she realized that her head didn't hurt in his presence anymore, it actually felt clearer than usual.

She opened her mouth to speak but he placed his finger on her lips, stopping her. Her breath hitched and their eyes locked but before she could even think, he was gone, the bathroom door closing heavily in his wake. “WhAt ThE fUck,” she muttered to her self, eyes wide and mouth gaped.

 

**MEANWHILE, DOWNSTAIRS**

 

Loki returned to the table, as aloof as ever. “What took you so long?” Maria questioned. Loki picked up his spork and smirked at her; first, because they weren't allowing him the use of sharp silverware and secondly, because of what he was about to say. “Though this place is nowhere as extravagant as our palace, it is quite easy to get lost,” Loki said matter-of-factly before digging into his food.

Maria narrowed her eyes at him, “Right...”

Everyone was mostly done eating, Loki figured he caught them in the middle of discussing what to do about Ragnarok. The two girls, Darcy and Mia, were no longer at the table so he could only assume that an _adult_ discussion was taking place. He smiled to himself, remembering the looks on all of their faces, the previous night, when The Phoenix came to his rescue. And while he wasn't too happy she waited until the cyborg was about to punch him to break things up, he admired her tenacity. That masked woman must have had some balls to think he'd commit to her plan one-hundred percent. Sure, he'd do everything she asked but he would at least give himself equal footing when it came to Fallon. Apparently, giving her away to Captain Obnoxious would save her, but he didn't want to save her if it meant that the choice would be so easily made. This masked person didn't have a right to decide for Fallon who should very well decide her fate all on her own.

“What are you smiling for, you smug bastard,” Clint said, agitation in his voice as he broke Loki from his inner monologue.

He lifted his head up, eyebrows raised, “Oh, nothing, just remembering something.”

Just then Fallon came into view, eyes hard as she stood in the living room archway.

“You need to get your running gear on, you're coming with me,” She said, pointing at Steve. He looked up from the table where he and his team were discussing strategies, blue eyes filled with worry. “ _Now_ ,” Fallon added pointedly, voice full of authority, making everyone at the table look between the two as though Steve's leadership was being questioned.

“Okay,” he agreed through teeth he didn't even recall gritting. He stood up and walked past her, staring at her. Fallon paid him no attention, eyes narrowing at the remaining heroes sat around her table. She was tired of the secrets, tired of all the lies. Little did she know, she was in for a rude awakening; a painful awakening.

Her eyes softened and met with Maria's, “We'll be back within the hour, you're in charge of... whatever the hell this is,” she gestured to the table, “until we get back.” Agent Hill nodded a single time before going back into the hushed discussion Fallon had interrupted.

“Ready,” Steve called, loudly, from the doorway.

Fallon left the archway quickly, finding the front door wide open, Steve already outside warming up. “Hey!” She shouted to him before slamming the front door closed. She advanced on him and he just stood there, waiting for her, stretching all the while. She got all up in his space, “You're going to tell me what's going on. _Now_ ,” she said, a bit of anger in her voice as their chests touched, her eyes locked with his. In a way, she was like a reverse-Loki, she'd taken on his stance almost exactly except for the fact that Loki was calm when he cornered her in the bathroom and she was anything but calm as she stood face to face with Steve.

Steve stared her down but, eventually, he wavered. There was no point in lying to her, especially not when they'd set up base inside of her home. He sighed, “Something big is coming, I don't even know how to go about explaining it to you, okay? But it's of Thor's world and there's a good chance that if his world gets destroyed, ours will never be the same.” Fallon looked as though she were digesting what he'd said to her, more confused than ever. “So... Loki?”

He sighed again. “Loki is helping us... sort of.”

“You really trust him after what he pulled all those years ago?!”

Cap nodded slightly, eyes filled with the usual worry when he looked at her, “I think he wouldn't come to us to save the kingdom unless it was serious. And since last night he's been... tame.” Fallon got this nervous look upon her face at the word _tame_ , it made Steve worry about her even more. “Hasn't he?” She knew what he was asking her but she just didn't see what good would come from telling Steve what Loki had done with her. In the midst of wondering just what it was that had made her become so passive lately, a black Lincoln Navigator pulled up through the gate and her heart nearly stopped.

“Looks like the man of the house is here, finally back from Paris,” Steve muttered at her side. Fallon narrowed her eyes at him, “Paris? I thought he was in Peru.” Steve said nothing, only looked at her briefly before turning his attention back to the vehicle that was coming to a stop right in front of them. “What are you going to tell him?” She said quietly, trying her best not to tremble at his side. Cap shrugged and Fallon grew envious, she wished that she could say she didn't fear him the way that everyone else could.

The door on the driver's side opened and out stepped Former Director Nick Fury, eye-patch gone and exchanged for a pair of black Raybans. “What did I miss?” He said, smiling at Steve as he walked around the car wearing a hoodie, that looked rattier than anything Fallon could think of, underneath and leather motorcycle jacket. Fallon must've looked like she'd seen a ghost because Steve nudged her to let her know she'd spaced off and her father was, in fact, speaking to her now.

“Pardon?” She said sheepishly as she looked to the man before her, the man who fathered her.

He smirked, “I said... what are you doing out here?”

“...Uh.. um.. going for a morning run with Steve,” She said, a bit of confusion on her face. It should've been obvious to anyone what they were doing, especially due to what they were wearing. “Plus, it's a bit crowded inside for my taste. Haven't seen that many people inside the house since... well, ever.” Nick nodded at his daughter before looking between the two of them like he was solving some sort of riddle. Steve cleared his throat after an uncomfortable silence began to blossom, “Well, now that your dad is here, we can just 86 the run and get back to the others.”

Fallon wanted to nod her agreement but her father spoke first, “Yes, _we_ can. But, Fallon, don't you have a guest to entertain?” She opened her mouth to speak but only a few noises of protest spilled out. Turning to Steve, she furrowed her brows in defeat before walking off toward the front door. Steve moved to follow after her but a hand was on his chest, stopping him. “Fury?” Steve asked, wondering why he was being held back.

“You need to tell me what's going on and you need to tell me now. A dozen voicemails sure as shit does nothing to help me rest my eye at night,” He said, voice calm but demeanor anything but. Steve nodded before going off on a tangent about all the things that had occurred, surrendering all of the intel he had. It was also in those moments that Steve saw the likeness between Nick and Fallon; they were born leaders, that was for sure, and he could recognize that because he was one aswell. 

 

**MEANWHILE, IN THE LIVING ROOM**

 

Fallon walked in to find that Mia and Darcy were having the time of their lives while everyone else was _freaking the fuck out_. It must've been nice to be oblivious like that, she couldn't even remember the last time she was completely unaware of the dangers all around her.

“Hey!” Mia said, seeing her best friend standing in the door way, slightly hovering, trying to decide if she should enter their space or retire to her room. Surprised, Fallon flinched a bit before replying, “Hey, wh-what are you guys doing?” She wanted to slap herself once the question was out because, truth be told, she didn't care what they were doing; she'd just been caught red-handed and couldn't react any other way.

Mia shot her a look of concern before answering with, “Nothing, sitting here gossiping.”

“How was your run with muscular blondie number two,” Darcy asked her, looking away from the pages of a tabloid to gaze at Fallon instead. “We didn't run...” She started, being interrupted by the girls' _woot-woot'_ s and _oh-la-la_ 's.

“No...my... Director Fury is back,” she said, feeling herself pale and become clammy right before their eyes; there was no doubt in her mind that she looked like a she was on her last breath. “I'm supposed to be entertaining you guys but I'm not feeling really well so, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to retire.”

Mia was looking at her with wide and worried eyes, managing to nod her consent after a few moments of awkward silence.

After Fallon ascended the staircase, Fury was coming through the front door with Steve in tow.  
  
“ _....Shit_ ,” Darcy said when the two men made it through the archway connecting the living room to the dining room. The two thought about eavesdropping on the heroes who sat around the dining table but thought better of it and retreated to the pool where they could continue gossiping and waiting for Selvig to notify Darcy that he'd landed at the airport.

 

**MEANWHILE, IN THE DINING ROOM**

 

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Fury said, eye fixed on Loki who sat twiddling his thumbs at the head of the table. All the others paused, looking to the man who was once their silent leader. Loki looked to the man who's house he so idly sat in; the man who's daughter he'd abducted last night; the man who's daughter he'd almost kissed that morning and smiled. Steve shot the God a look that could kill, wondering what exactly Loki had done to get Fallon so worked up to begin with.

Thor cleared his throat, trying to break up the staring matches. “We haven't found a solution to the problem at hand and we can't go running in because it could be a set up.” Sif nodded her head in agreement, a grave expression on her face. Jane then looked like she'd got an idea and Steve caught on, asking, “What is it, Jane?”

“Nothing... well, Loki....”

“Yes, I have been told that I'm nothing many times, Jane Foster.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at Loki before pressing Jane to continue.

“Who did you leave in charge during your absence?”

Loki shrugged, “Heimdall, of course. He can see all, and he wouldn't think of endangering the people of Asgard by trying to overthrow me in my absence. He seemed like a suitable choice; the only choice.”

“But you said he can barely see Theoric,” Jane added.

He only nodded at her, not quite getting where she was headed with her current train of thought. Jane looked to Thor before continuing, “Just like Heimdall couldn't see me when I was carrying the aether.”

Thor gave a weak smile before replying to his long-time girlfriend, “That's different, Jane. He couldn't see you at all.”

“Even better,” Jane said, almost cheerfully.

Clint scratched his head before asking, “How so,” desperately wanting to know when she'd just get to the point.

“Forgive me for pulling your chains, scientist habit and all,” Jane said before nodding to Tony and Bruce , who agreed with smiles on their faces, “But if Heimdall can barely see this guy, he can still give us a location, right? Forgive me if I'm wrong but I don't have any idea how his sight works, but why wouldn't he be able to pinpoint Theoric's exact location?”

“He did, and that's why I'm here. I think Theoric is searching for something to aid him in bringing about Ragnorak. Thanos doesn't half-ass anything,” Loki said simply, taking everyone in the room by surprise.

“Or someone,” Bruce muttered absently.

Jane's curiosity piqued, “What was that, Bruce?”

“What man in his right mind escapes the home he's known his whole life, after four years of careful planning, only to end up here on Earth… in New York? That's a bit specific if you ask me. There's nothing in this world that he can't get anywhere else, versus a place where all of us just happen to have turned up. Unless it's a person he's looking for and not an object.”

“Maybe another of The Fallen?” Thor asked, looking to Sif. However, Sif looked downright infuriated, turning to Loki, “You imprisoned the only person left alive, in all the nine realms, who could tell us about the location of The Fallen who reside in other realms, you imbecile!”

Jane held her hands up, trying to quell Sif's anger, “Hold on, hold on, hold on. If Loki is unwilling to tell us where Odin is, Heimdall can just scan the entire state for souls who render him near sightless... the same way Theoric does.” Thor nodded and everyone sighed their relief. Natasha spoke up first, “So Thor, you'll call Heimdall to summon you?”

Thor nodded, almost regretfully as he looked at Jane and then back to the others. “I'm the only one who he'll trust besides Sif, but I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Loki,” he said sternly and Sif nodded her consent. “I will go, and while I'm there, I will talk to The pure-blood Fallen who still live in Asgard. Maybe some of them may have portraits of Theoric, it'll make it easier to locate him.”

“Sounds like a plan, team. In the meantime, I need a few of you to help me handle something a little closer to home,” Nick said, removing his jacket and pulling a manilla folder from his messenger bag.

"Which few?” Bruce asked.

Nick didn't speak, only pointed to Sam, Steve, Natasha, Bucky, and Tony.

Natasha got up and moved around the table to open Nick's manilla folder, she paused when she started to read the document. “The Phoenix?” She asked, only a bit stunned.

 

 

**MEANWHILE, UPSTAIRS**

 

Fallon was fast asleep, tossing and turning in her expensive sheets, in her expensive bed. The nightmare from the night before had not plagued her, this time, there were memories instead. The memories felt like they belonged to someone else, but no, they were all hers.

“ _Stop it,” She cried, laughing uncontrollably under the touch of a boy, laying in bed with her and tickling her._

_He laughed at her, nuzzling his face into her neck, “Not a chance in hell, Fury,” he said, voice making her breath hitch. She pushed him off of her, forcefully, sitting up in her bed and glancing over at herself in the mirrors that paneled her closet doors. She was about sixteen or seventeen, judging by her reflection and the stupid red streaks in her hair._

“ _I don't want you to go back to boarding school, your vacations are far too short,” the boy next to her said, a bit of sadness in his voice._

_She looked away from the mirrors and looked down at him after straightening her hair with her palm, “I don't want to go back, either, Loki,” she said softly, laying back down beside him. She curled against his side and looked up at him in awe as he ran his fingers through her hair._

“ _You're my best friend, you know,” he said to her, fighting to keep a cheeky smile off of his face._

_Fallon laughed at that, a laugh she hadn't heard from herself in a very long time, “I'm your only friend, Odinson.”_

_He moved in closer to her and whispered, “Sometimes, it's difficult.”_

“ _What is?” She asked, curiously, all doe-eyed._

_He leaned in closer, as if he weren't already impossibly close, lips brushing hers as he answered with, “Restraining myself from kissing you.”_

“ _Then don't,” she said back to him, mustering the courage to run her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer for a forceful kiss._

 

The memory flickered to an end there, blending and colliding with others like she was sifting through a playlist in her mind, trying to find the most relevant of long lost memories.

 

_She shot up in bed and looked down at her hands, a fire surging to the surface, licking out at her comforter. She heard herself let out a tiny scream, knowing that even if she got louder, no one would hear her. Hilda had retired to the guest house and her father was away on business. Fallon panicked, tears springing to her eyes as she fought to control whatever was happening to her; she couldn't._

_Just as she'd given up hope, a figure moved to her quickly from the darkest corner of her room. He jumped into the bed and gripped her, skin blue and eyes red. He gave a soft wail of pain before, soon enough, her fires were extinguished by his countering icy cold exterior. The figure pulled her close and kissed her, his icy extremities putting out every fire that burned in her nerve endings, lighting an entirely different sort of fire within the pit of her stomach._

“ _Loki?” She asked, as they broke apart and he turned his back to hide from her._

_He shook his head, “I found out that I'm a monster, today.”_

“ _Come here,” she demanded, wiping the left-over tears from her face._

_He did as she commanded and when she looked at him, she didn't feel disgust, she felt an unsurpassable amount of love. She felt like they were seeing each other for the first time since they were children. She hugged him, she kissed him, she made love with him. However, she noticed that there was something changed about him. There was this anger she could not heal, this hurt that was not hers to mend._

_She woke up and he was gone, leaving her to call his name in wonder, hoping he'd come back._

 

The memories jumbled up again.

 

_Fallon was packing up her suitcase and a few things she'd need for her dorm. She could have, arguably, stayed in the manor and attended classes at NYU but she didn't want to. There were too many memories there and too much pain. She refused to spend her entire life being a slave to her father and the life she had with him or all the things they'd lost._

_It had been a whole year since she'd spoken to Loki and she couldn't even think about him for longer than a moment or her heart would ache much too badly._

“ _You're leaving.” a voice said, behind her, startling her half to death._

_She turned, cautiously, afraid she was making it up in her head. She came face to face with the love of her life and looking at him almost made her sick. “No,” she said simply._

“ _Well, obviously, you are,” he said, a smirk on his face, “You're packing.”_

_Fallon wanted to laugh in spite of herself. Why did she have to think of him? Why now?_

“ _I meant, no, as in you can't be here,” she said, trying to be as cold with him as possible, “you don't get to just pop in and out of my life like a devastatingly tragic love novel. You either stay or you go.”_

_He started laughing at her and her facade crumbled a bit. She was staring into his eyes and, somehow, they weren't his eyes at all. They were all wrong, blue instead of green, malicious instead of loving. “I'll choose go, then,” he said, causing her to flinch lightly._

“ _Wh-what?” she said, silently, almost breathless._

_He smiled at her, something sick about him, “You're a loose end that needs tying up and I choose to go.”_

“ _Loki...”_

“ _Loki,” he repeated in a nasal-y voice, mocking her. “No,” He said, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her straight into the eyes._

_She stared at him with fear in her eyes, not even bothering trying to struggle away from him._

“ _You will forget,” he said sternly before stroking her face, a searing pain running up to her brain and shooting up and down her spine, “You will forget about me, you will forget about the events of the day your mother was murdered, you will forget everything you know about this world of Gods and Monsters.”_

_A tear streamed down her face, the pain so severe and icy that it made her close her eyes. When she opened her lids, he was gone and, a moment after she couldn't even remember exactly who she'd been expecting to be standing in front of her in the first place._

 

Fallon shot up in bed, an eery scream escaping her.

 


	8. Chapter 7

  **CHAPTER SEVEN**

 

 

 “What the hell was that?” Darcy asked after Mia stopped mid-sentence, a scream filtering through the backyard through an open upstairs terrace. It was coming from Fallon's room.

Just moments before, the girls received a call from Ian and Selvig saying that they'd just touched down at the airport. Mia was in the midst of asking questions when they were interrupted by the chaos coming from indoors. The two young women looked at each other before shuffling inside as swiftly as possible. They entered the living room to see that everyone in there looked just as shocked as they did; the heroes standing stock still, trying to determine if they had all heard what they thought they did.

“I'm going to go-” Maria started, about to offer to go check on Fallon when she was cut off by the sound of someone flying down the staircase. Fallon was almost like a determined blur when she came into view, sweat on her brow and an indescribable look in her eyes. She scanned the room, glaring at Mia and Darcy to ward them off when they tried to get too close to her to check if she was okay. Once her eyes found her target, she pounced and it was uncharacteristic enough that no one saw it coming.

“You son of a bitch!” Fallon yelled from the floor, clawing at Loki from her place on top of him. Everyone watched for a beat, wondering what the hell the trickster had done now, before Steve moved in to pull her away from the God. “What did you do to me?!” She yelled, struggling in Steve's arms, trying her best to escape his clutches.

Loki sat up and ran a hand through his hair in a feeble effort to tame it, “I did nothing but return what was taken away, I assume you know that, stop with the rhetoric.” His nonchalance made her all the more angry and she lunged at him again. “What the hell did you do to her?” Natasha said, a mixture of concern and anger on her beautiful face. Loki stood up from the floor, easily, giving the former assassin a sideways glance, “I did nothing wrong.”

“He's a liar!” Fallon screamed, almost hysterical, tears forming in her eyes as she pointed to the person who she thought to be the reason for all things evil.

Nick walked to the center of the living room, “Enough,” he said sternly.

Fallon turned away and into Steve's arms, pressing her face into the space between his shoulder and his neck, sobbing. Steve was shocked by her clear expression of emotions, he didn't think the woman was capable of showing this side of herself. “Loki had to have done something, Fury.... _look at her_ ,” Steve said, blue eyes wide as he tried to comfort the young woman clinging to him in messy heap of raw emotion. Nick gave his daughter a long look and then shook his head before saying, “We have more pressing matters to deal with, Fallon can handle herself.”

Before anyone could argue in her defense, argue that Loki could have alternative motives by tampering with her mind, Fallon was escaping Steve's grip and darting back off to the impending darkness that awaited her in her bedroom. Mia followed after her. Steve shot Tony, Bruce, Natasha, and Thor a look that said _We need to figure out what that was all about_.

 

**MEANWHILE UPSTAIRS**

“What in the hell was that?” Mia asked, barging into her best friend's bedroom, “And why the hell is the door to your terrace open? It's freezing in here.” Fallon just sat there on her bed, staring at Mia, not bothering to give any of her questions an answer. What did it matter what Loki did to her? What did it matter that her terrace was open because it kept her from over-heating in her sleep?

“Are you going to talk to me?” Mia tried again, sitting down beside Fallon, gently nudging her friend.

Fallon sighed before rasping, “Loki.... he was _the guy_.”

“What guy?” Mia asked, eyebrows raising in confusion.

“The guy I was head-over-heels for, the guy I never shut up about for all those years, _that guy_ ,” She said, bordering on hysterical again. Her hands were shaking and she could feel them warming up, “He...he made me forget him... before he tried to destroy New York, he came to me and he made me forget him.” Her eyes were filled with tears and she was biting her lip. Every bit of residual pain left behind by the newly-remembered things he'd done or said, and of all the things she'd lost, rippled through her non-stop. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to forget him again. She wanted him to watch her explode, wondering if he'd even care. But, most of all, she wanted to... _kiss him_. The urge to kiss him won out over all of the urges she felt; to strangle him, to punch him in the throat.

The woman at her side was silent and had yet to show any signs of opening her mouth to respond. The bed shifted just a bit as Mia fidgeted awkwardly, moving to stand. “I'm going with Darcy to pick up Dr. Selvig and his intern, Ian, from the airport. I should be back by dinner and we'll talk more about this then... if you want.” Fallon nodded a bit and then her so-called best friend was gone.

There was a knock at the door a few moments later and then Steve appeared. “I didn't say you could come in,” she snapped, rubbing at her eyes in frustration before looking to where he stood in front of her. “My apologies,” he muttered, eyes at their limit of worry. He sat down on the bed, beside her, right where Mia had been moments earlier. “I ran into Mia on the way up here and, surprisingly, she didn't flirt with me or make me feel like an idiot... she even went as far as to make eye contact with my eyes instead of my pectorals or my crotch.” His words had him smiling but Fallon was having none of that shit, not while her brain kept going back to the way it felt to be with him, to be with Loki; _his velvetly smooth lips on her skin, against that sensitive spot on her neck; his large hands roaming her body without a single care; his weight on top of her._

“Fallon.”

“Hmm?”

“I get that you're angry, but–” He started, only to be cut off.

“No, that's not it. That's the thing, I'm not angry at him... It's... It's me. I'm mad that I could forget this feeling, this feeling that is so strong and potent within me. How could I forget that? How could I go on living without it?” Steve looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. She was biting her lip, paying him no attention. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” Steve said.

Fallon nodded at him, before waving her hand dismissively, trapped deep in her own thoughts. A handful of moments passed, a comfortable silence between them. Steve cleared his throat and said her name so silently she almost didn't hear him. When she turned her head, she was almost surprised to find that it wasn't Steve at all, It was Loki revealing his true self from beneath his guise. Fallon's breath hitched and she moved away from him but it wasn't far enough or quick enough.

Loki gently grasped at her wrist, keeping her from moving any further. He moved to meet her, eyes trained to her face as he leaned in. “No,” She gasped as he leaned in to catch her mouth with his own. In an instance, she was calmed and relaxed, his very presence keeping her chaotic and destructive nature at bay. She resisted for a moment but couldn't fight him off for long. He threw his arms around her body and embraced her tightly, her own arms mimicking his actions. The kiss was equal parts sweet and passionate as the two lovers reacquainted themselves with one another; yin reuniting with yang.

He broke apart from her and stared into her eyes and she openly gazed back, searching for an answer to her own question. “How could I forget you… _this_?” She asked quietly, eyes downcast to where their bodies joined. He didn't answer her, just looked at her like he was memorizing every part of her face. Fallon leaned back onto her bed and pulled him down with her, gazing up at him silently. “Magic,” Loki said simply, rubbing his nose against that spot on her neck– the spot that drove her mad whenever he touched it.

“Why,” she asked, voice soft and almost inaudible as she wriggled beneath him a bit.  
He lifted himself up on his arms, looking down at her, a serious expression on his face. There weren't any memories in her database, not where he made that face. The newly returned memories she had of him were all happy ones, all but the last one. “Because I wasn't good enough for you, I'm not...good enough for you,” he said cautiously, gauging what her reaction would be.

Fallon's eyes hardened momentarily, trying to take in what he'd said to her. “But you are...” She said before pulling him down again, pressing her lips to him. A part of her wondered how she'd ever gone so long without his lips against hers. Before she could even think, his hands were rubbing up and down her sides, stirring up something in her that was probably on the verge of dying. A moan escaped her and Loki froze, in his place, above her. He didn't break the kiss but she could sense the change in his demeanor. She murmured his named against his mouth, her hands moving to clutch at his hair, another moan escaping her in the process.

“I should get back before they notice I'm gone,” He said, breaking away from her like she'd set fire to his skin. Fallon sat up and gazed at him, longingly. “What?”

He ran his hand down his face before saying, “I waited until Mia was gone and then disguised myself as her, fooled them all into thinking Mia stayed behind while the loud one ventured off. I snuck off upstairs and then disguised myself as Captain Rogers before coming in because I knew Mia had just exited your quarters.” Fallon looked gobsmacked but nodded her head, all the same, pretending to go along with the story.

“Stay with me,” she pleaded as he turned away from her to dash out of her bedroom door.

Loki froze in place, again, “I don't think...”

Fallon was about to argue with him and his stupid stupid thoughts when there was a loud knock on her bedroom door. Her eyes widened and she jumped up from her bed, steering her dirty little secret toward her bedroom closet. “Who is it?” She asked, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

“It's...It's Steve... are you decent?” The voice shot from the other side of her bedroom door.

Once her closet door was securely shut, she set to work smoothing down her pre-sex hair and her clothes. “Yeah, come in,” She said, turning on her bedside lamp as she reclaimed her seat on the plush bed behind her. Steve came shooting in the room and earned himself an eyebrow raise from Fallon, who was pretending to read a novel, one she'd already read twelve times.

“Are you alright? We've seemed to have misplaced Loki, he hasn't tried to hurt you has he?”

He seemed out of breath, and Fallon had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing at him. The action drew all of his attention to said lips, the very ones that were swollen from all of the kissing. “No, I haven't seen that dickhead, but I'll holler if I do,” Fallon managed, nervous about the way Steve was eyeing her mouth as she spoke.

“Okay...” He said, voice laced with suspicion as he moved to exit her bedroom. Fallon waited a few moments after he'd left before getting up and moving over to lock the door so as to avoid anymore interruptions.

“Dickhead?”

“Yes, that's you.” Fallon said, brushing past Loki who had emerged from her closet just seconds before. He grabbed her by the wrist before pulling her into his arms. She was resistant, at first, avoiding looking directly at him. He grabbed her face with both of his hands, smashing her lips to his. She pushed away from him before saying, “No, I'm not in the mood.” Loki kissed her neck repeatedly, knowing instinctually that she was lying, he knew all her tells of arousal. A moan managed to escape her and she mentally cursed herself.

“You have bewitched me,” Loki whispered against her skin. She laughed at that, the deep and rich laugh of her past, as she responded with, “But it is you, my love, who has witchcraft in your lips.” He moved his kisses to the cleavage that was exposed at the V of her V-neck t-shirt. “You, my love, are sin,” Loki said with a dark chuckle, steering her to her bed.

Fallon laughed as she fell onto her bed, mind reeling at the feel of his lips reconnecting to hers. She sighed when he parted from her momentarily, his hands finding a way up her shirt. “Wait...wait.... are you not going to tell me what's going on? Your brother has been on 10 for like the past two days,” She said softly, nudging Loki away from her. It took everything in her to push him away.

“On...10?” He asked, a slightly confused look on his face.

Fallon snickered, “Yeah... it means he's been … doing the most.”

“Doing the most?” Loki looked even more confused, “Please, _speak english_.”

She squinted at him, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to find words he would understand. It had been a while since she had to tailor her Earth slang to accommodate the likes of an Asgardian. “Well, he's just been really really angry.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, “Why didn't you just say so?”

Fallon stared at him for a good two seconds before grabbing one of her runaway pillows and smacking him upside the head with it. He went stock-still in reaction to being struck by her and his expression earned a laugh from her. Her roaring laughter died down into a squeak when Loki picked up another one of her pillows and struck her back. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago, the last time they'd actually had a pillow fight, and their playful fit was somehow alien and equal parts domestic.

A million dollar smile lit up Loki's face and in that single moment, nothing else mattered, it was like no time had passed at all. It was as though he'd never done any of the terrible things in his frantic scramble for the throne, right there with Fallon is where he had always been. Not even Thanos could rip him away from her now, he thought. But, the Phoenix probably could. She chose that very moment to make herself known.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” She asked, arms folded as she stood at the side of Fallon's bed in her full get-up. Loki reeled, looking down at Fallon to notice that she was frozen in time. He moved from the bed quickly, the pillow he had been holding still levitating in mid-air. Coming face to face with the vigilante, he was one hundred percent prepared to tell her to fuck off and when he opened his mouth to do just that, she grabbed hold of his ear and dragged him out into the hallway.

“OUCH, unhand me, masked wench!”

The Phoenix only gripped at his ear tighter and gritted her teeth as she spoke to him, “I want you to understand me when I tell you that you are not, I repeat, NOT GOING TO FUCK THIS UP. IF YOU FUCK THIS UP, SHE DIES. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?”

Loki was finally able to get her an arms-length away from him and upon achieving that feat, he took a swing at the woman. Now, he was by no means okay with hitting women, but it had to be done. She was down on the floor when he was finally able to force himself to look at her and what he'd done to her, her black eye-mask broken and laying beside her. She was doctoring her bloody lip when she looked up at him and he would swear he was seeing things if he didn't know any better.

 _“Fallon?”_ he gasped _“but...how? I...I'm so...”_

“Save it, Odinson,” She said, holding her hand up to keep him from saying anything more to her, a dark mark starting to form over the bridge of her nose and under her right eye, “I'll heal and come tomorrow, there won't be a scratch.”

Without the mask, there was no doubt that it was her. The Phoenix was Fallon, but not _his_ Fallon. If not for the harsh sound of her usually gentle voice, he probably would've noticed sooner. Her voice was a bit different but that was of her own doing, not from time that had passed, probably to keep herself from being found out. She stood up uneasily and looked at him and it was in her eyes that he saw it, the desperation.

“How?” Loki urged, trying not to sound as demanding.

She shook her head, eyes watery, “I can't tell you. It could destroy the fabrication of time itself if I told you, you're going to have to figure it all out yourself and being the enlightened man you are I doubt that it will be too difficult for you.”

She leaned down to pick up the two halves of her mask and walked away from him saying, “You've got seven seconds,” before she was gone, down the staircase,  entirely. Loki booked it back inside the bedroom and to his previous position just as time was set back in motion. His beloved was beneath him, laughing and carrying on until she saw the look on his face. Fallon had only ever seen that look once before and she wasn't liking that she was seeing it again. “I came to tell you that your father has an arrangement with Richard Baylor, they'll start funding the rebuilding of S.H.I.E.L.D tenfold if you marry his son,” Loki said quietly.

Fallon sat up in bed, eyes searching his to see if what he was saying was farce. “Are you serious?”

Loki only nodded and watched as she went on a descent into complete and utter sadness. He got out of her bed and headed for the door, “Who knows about this?” Fallon asked. Loki closed his eyes, knowing her question would lead her right to where The Phoenix wanted her and right where he could never watch her end up. “Stark knows, Agents Hill, Romanov, and Barton,” Loki said before leaving altogether.

She sat there in his wake, staring dumbfounded at the door. Her heart was breaking into a million pieces and the only sucky thing about it was that she could now remember that she'd felt the same way not even five years ago. How could he just walk out of there again? Because of her father? Fallon would fight Nick Fury to the death if it meant that she could be with Loki and she knew for a fact he'd do the same thing with Odin. She doubted highly that Nick was the reason that Loki was bowing out now. Was it because of Richie Baylor? Fallon sure as shit hoped not.

Maybe Loki was stepping out of the way of the gigantic shitstorm she intended to stir up when she went to Steve with her fathers plans to reboot S.H.I.E.L.D behind his back. She hopped out of bed and shot off a quick text to good ole Cap to meet her in the wine cellar in five minutes. She'd sneak out of her terrace and go around back. She smirked as she threw on her NYU hoodie, knowing full and well that she wasn't going to lie down and play dead any longer especially now that she had her memories back.

First on her list of payback was her father. And after that? She'd slay Bucky Barnes the way she suspected he'd slayed her mother. What was that saying again? The friend of my enemy is my friend? Or was it the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Either way, Fallon had Steve and Loki willing to take a bullet for her so, Bucky was toast. 


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter. next chapter will be beast as hell.

 

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

 

 

“Hey, what's wrong?” He said, chest rising and falling rapidly as he took in their surroudings. They were in the back row of the cellar, in the company of wine bottles that were probably older than Steve was. “Are you okay? Is it Loki? Has he hurt you?” Fallon sighed and stepped even closer to the man before her, and just as she suspected, her mere proximity brought him to silence. “No, it's not that. I... I have something to tell you, I just don't know how you'll react.”

Steve furrowed his brows as he stared down at her, wondering why she wouldn't meet his eyes. It was all apart of her act, she was pretending to actually be the least bit conflicted with what she intended to tell him. Fallon opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by the sound of his phone chirping. She raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with him for the first time since she stepped into his personal space. “Sorry, it's Bucky. He's walking the perimeter, searching for...”

“Yeah, I get it. Searching for Loki. What's his deal, anyway?”

Steve stepped away from her a bit so that he could see her better and maybe then he could get a better read on why she called him there to meet her. “Who, Loki?”  
Fallon shook her head and stepped closer to him before leaning against the stone wall cubby that held more bottles of ancient wine. “No, Bucky,” She asked, making sure to keep her face passive. Steve visibly stiffened a bit as he watched her. The more time that passed, there in the cellar, the more confused he became. “What do you mean?” Steve asked, not moving away from her this time, accidentally breathing in her scent. Fallon let a ghost of a smirk fall into place on her face, only for a second before she ran her hand up and down his arm. “I mean, he went from a psycho to being your best friend again? I just want to be sure he doesn't intend to hurt you. I don't know what I'd do if–” She paused and looked up at him sheepishly, hoping he'd catch where she was going with her train of thought. “No, he's fine,” Steve said, blue eyes trying to keep the surprise and longing from showing, “He's been completely fine since I found him.”

She nodded a bit before running her hand onto his chest, pretending that she was absent-mindedly completing the action. Oh, how intentional it actually was. “How exactly did you find him, anyway?” Fallon asked, eying him with an adorably coy expression plastered on her face. Steve watched her hand, almost like he was in a trance, before placing his own palm over hers to stop her. “I didn't, one day he just came to my doorstep. He collapsed into me, a blubbering mess. Don't let him know that I told you that.” Fallon looked up at him and their eyes locked, “I'd never tell...”

“Speaking of telling, didn't you have to tell me something?” Steve asked, voice hushed a little bit, his eyes not leaving hers once. She nodded a bit, “I do, but I don't want to ruin the mood.” Steve's neck turned a shade of pink at her words and she almost didn't notice but, when she did, had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Steve leaned down almost immediately, after seeing her action, forcing her lip from the grasp of her teeth with his thumb as he sought out her mouth with his own. To say that Fallon was shocked would be an understatement, what shocked her even more was the fact that she kissed him back. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer to her, pleased moans escaping her during their encounter. After a few moments of biting and kissing and nipping they parted, breathless and panting. Fallon's eyes were closed and just before he could speak, she leaned in again so that she could bite his lower lip. The action caused a shaky breathy moan to escape Steve. He was about to grab hold of her again so that they could kiss more but she pulled away, at the last minute, remembering why she was there. He gave a hushed apology but she just shook her head, her thumb stroking his lips to let him know that she wasn't mad at him, but at the bad news she'd have to give him.

“My father is rebooting S.H.I.E.L.D behind your back,” Fallon said softly, eyes locked to the lush pink and inviting mouth in front of her, refusing to meet his eyes. “Stark, Romanov, Hill, and Barton knew about it and said nothing.”

Steve didn't respond verbally and, by the time she looked up to gauge his reaction, he was swiftly moving past her and over to the cellar door. She let out a breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding and, instead of following him, she opted for sneaking back up the vines next to her terrace. However, on her way out of the wine cellar, she ran into Bucky and Mia. Darcy had just returned with Selvig, Ian, and Mia in tow and boy, were they in for a show. “Fallon, hey, what are you doing out here? Stealing wine from your dad's cellar like the good old days?” Mia asked, cheeks a bit ruddy like a child who had been caught doing something they had no business doing. Fallon cautiously spared a glance toward Bucky who was staring at her, not maliciously, but curiously. “She must be enlisting Steve's help because he just left the cellar not even five minutes before she walked up to us?” He said, only glancing over at the girl next to him to see her mouth form a tiny 'o' shape. Fallon squinted a little bit and was about to protest but she heard a commotion coming from indoors. “Really? That's the second time in one day, is this a freaking soap opera?” Mia shot, annoyed, before making her way to the patio door. Bucky and Fallon followed her close behind.

Steve looked livid and Tony was the embodiment of uncouth. “Fury, you agreed with me all those years ago. We just neutralized Hydra, do not open this can of worms.” Tony hijacked the response Nick was going to give and folded his arms as he said, “This government partnership is probably the smartest thing we could do. It's not only great for us but for the new avengers, also. After what happened in Texas last week, every super hero should come into the light.”

“But it puts the people we care about in danger. Look what happened to Pepper, you almost got her killed with extremis,” Steve shot.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Yes, thank you for the reminder. It was also really great having you guys there for back-up, oh wait–”

Natasha and Steve rolled their eyes simultaneously and Bruce couldn't contain his curiosity. “Wait, so who's side are you on, again?” Natasha raised her eyebrows as far as they could go at Bruce's uncharacteristic line of questioning but, then again, when taking Bruce's condition into account there wasn't a doubt about the side he was on. “The government's, of course,” Natasha said, furrowing her brows, hoping beyond hope that he would agree with her. “I mean, I hate to say it Nat, but I'm on Steve's side with this one. Since when has our government... any government, for that matter, ever had anyone's best interest at heart?” Natasha scoffed and was about to retaliate with a fair response but Tony interrupted her. “Bruce, you've got to be kidding me. When it comes to picking sides, when we lay it out on the table, you're on the Captain Tight-ass roster? Seriously?”

At that moment, Bucky, Mia, and Fallon all came bustling into the living room from the dining room. They all remained silent, wondering what the hell they'd just walked into, hanging back near the doorway in case they needed to make a speedy exit. Fallon tried to hide the smile from her face, eyes wide with the realization that her plans were all falling into place. Bruce folded his arms and looked between Natasha and Tony regretfully. “You're damn right he's on my side, science bros be damned. He knows what's at stake, all that S.H.E.I.L.D and HYDRA have done, and he also knows you're terrible at making decisions.”

Tony huffed, actually huffed and turned toward the staircase, “Pepper and I are leaving. We'll stay at the Avengers Tower.”

“Are you out of your mind, Stark?” Fury shot, one good eye glaring at Tony, his new eyepatch covering the other.

Tony shook his head, not caring about putting himself in danger by coming out into the open again. He'd missed his tower dreadfully, seeing as he hadn't been there since Ultron. Vision, Maximoff, and Rhodey had since made it their new home after leaving the Avengers training base. “I'm clearly not welcome here,” Tony said simply, shooting Bruce an overly dramatic look to make it known that he'd hurt his feelings by picking a side that wasn't his.

Fury was growing agitated,“This is my house, and I need all you muthafuckers to sit your asses right here where I can see you.”

“Maybe Stark is right, maybe we should all split up. We're sitting ducks, clustered all together like this, anyway,” Sam pointed out from his perch on the armrest of the arm chair.

Steve looked around the room, eyes resting on Sif who looked downright distraught. Thor had just ventured to their home realm, she had misplaced Loki, and now the self-proclaimed superheroes who were supposed to be helping her to ward off the impending apocalypse were disbanding right before her eyes. Steve almost felt bad for her. It wasn't like they weren't going to make good on their promise, and they weren't stupid; they all knew that if Ragnarok was brought upon Asgard, it would not leave Earth untouched. Steve just felt it was important to draw lines in the sand so that when the dust settled, there wouldn't be any mistaking the Civil War that would divide them all. Friends would become enemies, lovers would become the hated, and allegiances would be tested. “Sam doesn't stay far, Fury. Bucky and I will go bunker down there until Thor gets back,” Steve said as calmly as he could manage to a man who just stabbed him in the back with no regard to anything he held dear. “And, about Loki,” Steve started again, turning to look at Sif, “He's been gone almost two hours now, if he was going to cause any trouble we would have heard about it already. He'll turn up back here, hell, for all we know he is still on the premises.” Sif nodded stiffly, silently agreeing with Steve.

Tony was half-way up the staircase when everyone looked to him for his confirmation that he was one-hundred percent certain about going to stay at his Tower (12% Pepper's tower). Stark was back down the stairs quicker than they'd all expected, Pepper behind him the entire way, bitching about how she was tired of all of his secrets and exclaiming about how she wondered if she could be engaged to, let alone married to, someone who refused to make her a permanent part of his inner circle.

The door slammed and Steve, Bucky, and Sam were moving to retrieve their belongings so they could leave also. Selvig, Darcy and Ian stood by the fireplace next to Jane, looking completely at a loss for words. “What about us?” Ian asked. “How should I know? Everyone else is hauling ass so I'm not sure who to ask,” Darcy snapped.

Fallon stepped up before Sif could shoot off any commands to Thor's posse. “You guys can set up in the lab downstairs. I'm not really sure what good you'll be since I don't really know why you're here. But I'm sure that's where  _Director_  Fury wants you. Right, sir?” Fallon said, the sarcasm basically dripping from the sides of her mouth as she eyed her father with faux innocence. Fury turned his head to look at the scientists and then at his daughter, what looked like the ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. The sight was almost enough to break Fallon.  _Almost_.

The scientists and their interns made a beeline for the library which housed a door down to the lab in the basement. Mia offered to help them move things and Bruce offered his services to Jane. “Staying, Banner?” Fallon asked, trying to keep the shock from her voice. “I may not agree with your father and what he's doing but that doesn't mean I should jump ship like a petulant child who can't get their way. I said I'd help Thor, that's what I'm going to do.” She nodded, “Mhmm. I see.” He smiled at her as they headed out to Darcy's car to retrieve more bags and things, “And, even though your father didn't explicitly recruit me... ouch on that one, by the way, I'm honestly very offended... I want to see what he can uncover about The Phoenix.”

Fallon squinted her eyes as she took two silver briefcases from Bruce's hands, “The Phoe... The freak in the climbing shorts and spandex?” She pulled a face, trying to remember exactly what the hell he was talking about. “Yes,” he said, stifling his laughter, “There's something about her that reminds me of the outcomes of some of my earlier experiments...”

Bruce's face held something troubling, but that didn't stop her from asking, “Your earlier experiments? You mean, the ones you did before... before you...  _you know_.” She trailed off and then pretended to inject herself with an invisible syringe, poking her tongue out shortly after, and then making the angriest face she could muster. Bruce stared at her, trying to contain his laughter and failing miserably; the delight in his eyes could be seen from space. “Yes, the experiments that I carried out before I loaded myself with gamma radiation and ushered in  _the other guy_ ,” Bruce said as they walked through the now quiet house, down the hallway and toward the library.

As they reached the door, a lightbulb went off in her head and though she hated the thought of using him as just another pawn in her game, she went forward with inserting him into her sick little battle that was yet to begin. “Did you ever.... come to terms with it? The other guy being there, sharing a space with the  _you_  that you thought you were; that you assumed you'd always been?”  _First, establish a connection._  When Bruce seemed to struggle with his answer, she rested her hand on his forearm as they stood in the middle of the book-filled haven. “I mean, no one ever has the right perspective about their former self. Look at Loki, the guy thinks he's a gift to whatever planet he touches; thinks he was made to rule,” he said.

“And who are we to say he's not meant to rule? Something in him keeps reverting back to it, so maybe he was born to be a leader,” Fallon shot, almost a bit too defensively.

Bruce eyed her for a moment before carrying on with, “Well, no. I get where you're coming from but I meant that Loki would assume that he used to be a great son and brother who only ever wanted to be an equal and not a king. But that's not true. He's always wanted it, he's always been a leader.”

“So you're saying that before all of the experiments, you think that the other guy was there? Just dying to get out? Are you saying you'd like to think you were once just a run-of-the-mill human being but that, in itself, is falsity?”  _Second, show interest._

He nodded at her. “I even went as far as to tell Stark once that I think the other guy saved me. I should've died from all of that gamma radiation.”

“Saved you? Saved you for what?” Fallon asked, furrowing her brows in that cute way that Natasha did not even an hour earlier.

He smirked, “Guess we'll find out.”

She grabbed a hold of his hand, a small smile on her face. He gave her hand a light squeeze before tugging her in the direction of the basement, “Come on, let's get this stuff to those nerds.”  _Third, inflict emotional stimulation to provoke emotional output._

“You're the King of Nerds, you can't just go around calling other people nerds.” Fallon said, laughing as they descended into the basement laboratory. Bruce laughed right beside her, absently holding her hand for comfort that he wasn't aware he'd needed.

 

 

 

**MEANWHILE, IN ASGARD**

 

 

Thor landed as gracefully as one could after being sucked through space. That, and not to mention, it'd been a few years since his last trip home. His eyes met with the beautiful gleam of the bi-frost beneath him, his hands the only thing keeping him from face-planting against it. He groaned a bit and then looked up to the empty space where Heimdall should be standing to welcome him home. The Sword was in it's rightful place, hovering as if being controlled by Loki's magick so that Heimdall could act out his kingly duties and still operate the bi-frost if necessary; it was some kind of mind magick that made Thor's head throb just thinking about it.

The God pushed himself up to stand and brushed off his Earthly clothing. He started to walk toward the city, only one thing on his mind : _How would his people welcome him after he abandoned them, all for the love of a mortal woman?_ He knew that he would soon find out, and he didn't plan on stopping and changing into any of his old finery, he would face them all in the threads he'd been baring for the last few years; he would go before them, not as they God they once knew, but as the man he'd been pretending to be.

 

“Oh, Jane what have I done?”, He muttered to himself just moments after he passed into the gates of Asgard, his once beloved and beautiful home realm. He gazed around and no matter where he looked he saw a crying and hungry child. Streets paved of gold but what good was the gold when his people where dying? He clutched his fist and looked around more frantically when he realized that people recognized him, but there was also an anger brewing inside of him. How could Loki just sit up on the throne and let the people go hungry and mad? How could the boy he grew up with become a man that would let the wide-eyed children cry, cry beside mothers who had died in their sleep because instead of eating they would give everything they could spare to their children?

 

The crowd that zeroed in on Thor started to chant his name in almost a whisper, their eyes glossy. “Thor, Thor, Thor, Thor?” They'd asked in their nearly breathless chant, causing his eyes to widen in a way that coincided with the thrumming and aching of his heart.

 

“I'm so sorry,” he whispered to the Asgardians who encircled him in a way that he couldn't determine. He didn't know if they'd harm him once close enough, once they'd all overlapped him. So, it was much to his surprise when the grouping of fragile and nearly withered peoples gathered him up and began to carry him toward the palace where he was born. He never shed a single tear in that castle and he sure as hell never went hungry there, so somehow, it all felt very wrong that he was being taken back to that place by the people he'd abandoned. Thor hoped beyond hope that Heimdall was at the other end of this disheartening mob so that he could help the golden son set right so many of Loki's (hopefully unintentional) wrongs.


	10. Chapter 9

 

 

   **CHAPTER NINE**

 

  
“So, what exactly does this machine do?” Fallon asked curiously, eyeing Dr. Selvig who had been acting suspicious since her father pulled him away to talk half an hour earlier. Bruce was down on his knees, screwing parts to the silver device, parts that Fallon didn't even bother trying to put a name to. “This is a very special machine, your father had it overnighted to me from some very special friends of his. It arrived at the airport just as I did. And while it doesn't have a name yet, it does one very specific thing, Ms. Fury.”

Her eyebrows shot up, “And that is?” She asked, standing next to Bruce, eyes shooting from the bulky device to Dr. Selvig. “It's like a tricked out life support machine,” Jane answered absently before her colleague could. Fallon brushed her fingers lightly at one of the silver beams just above Bruce's head, feeling a gentle pulsation. “Why exactly does my father need this? I mean, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is an exact replica of the T-7X800 device from all those files,” her eyes met Bruce's as he looked up at her, probably remembering that he had been the one to show her those files. “And if that's the case, then this is for beings with abilities.... like Steve...” her eyes met with Jane's, “Like Thor... Is he going to interrogate people who refuse to join his side? This will help him keep them alive while he tortures them, won't it?”

Everyone was silent and Fallon took a few steps back, glancing at the machine that was looking more and more like a declined examination table with each part Bruce assembled. “I can't say, really. We were just asked to bring it here on our way,” Jane said before pausing briefly, “But something tells me that this device isn't for what you think it's for.” Fallon looked around the room, eyes trying to identify all the machines around her. One by one, everything fell into place for her and she was ready to get the hell out of there. “I have to get out of here,” She said loudly enough for all of them to hear before darting over to the stairs. Bruce followed her with his eyes, his sad sad eyes, before he carried on with putting the pieces of the machine together.

When Fallon reached the top of the stairs, she'd felt like all the air in her lungs had left her. She didn't know who she was supposed to turn to. She suspected that the machine was for her and if Jane's sad eyes were any indication, her suspicions were correct. Taking a few deep breaths she decided she'd go find Loki. She didn't know where Natasha had slinked off to, but even so, she wasn't ready to deal with her in the light of her betrayal. With every second that passed, she didn't even know if she could trust the woman with hair like fire. Mia was spending the night at Sam's, most-likely to inevitably gravitate towards Bucky but she did need her best friend, so she'd phone Mia before going and scouring the city to look for Loki. It sounded like a pretty decent plan, she just couldn't stay in that house any longer. After going upstairs, she was headed toward the front door when she heard her father calling for her.

“Heading somewhere? Isn't it a bit late to be gallivanting off by yourself,” Nick asked, arms folded as he stared at the back of her head. Fallon closed her eyes before thinking of a reply, “I can take care of myself, remember?” Fury chuckled and nodded a little bit, “I guess I deserved that. Be careful Fallon Elizabeth, who knows what's lurking out there in the dark.”

 _Can't be any worse than what's lurking in here_. “Will do, Nick. Are we done?”

“Just be home at a respectable time, I want you to be sure you're well rested. You're meeting a friend tomorrow, over breakfast,” Fury said casually.

“Let me guess, is it Baylor and his satanic offspring? The one who thinks people like Steve are freaks? He used to pull the heads off of my dolls in middle school, you know, and I've heard that's the trait of a psychopathic serial killer.”

Nick made a _tsk tsk_ noise before heading in the opposite direction of his daughter, “Just don't forget,” he said, words floating down the hallway and bouncing off the high ceilings. Fallon rolled her eyes before heading out the front door, pulling the hood of her grey hoodie over her head.

 

 

**MEANWHILE, AT SAM'S HOUSE**

“Sam has a really nice house,” Mia said as she walked down one of the long hallways, Bucky close behind her. “I've seen better,” he muttered, his blue eyes fixed on her ass. She turned her head to glare at him and caught him red-handed, “Like something you see?” Bucky cleared his throat and looked at one of the paintings on the wall to his right. “Yeah... this is actually... a _really nice_ painting.” Mia shook her head, “Be a man and just admit that you have the hots for me.” Bucky bit his lip at her words, turning toward her, arms folded, “You don't think I'm manly?”

“I mean, a real man would've admitted it by now,” Mia said, folding her arms also, showing him that his stance wasn't at all threatening to her. Bucky was so swift that if she didn't know any better, she would've thought he sought out to actually hurt her. He had her pressed up against the nearest wall, eyes staring down into hers. She gasped when she tried to move and he only pressed harder against her, not relenting, his mechanical arm making a whirring noise. “Is this manly enough for you?” he asked, running the tip of his nose down her neck, his lips brushing against her soft skin every now and again. Mia nodded her head, unable to focus on forming actual words with the weight of his muscular body pressing down against her. “Men take what they want from a willing participant, _Miana_ St. Germain. Are you a willing participant?” He asked, breathing a bit rougher due to the arousal coursing through him. “How did you–” “I'm a former assassin, it's not really difficult to snatch a wallet and get a look at someone's ID,” Bucky shot as a response. “And your motive behind invading my privacy?” She asked, eyes widening a little bit, not knowing whether she should be angry and punch him or whether she should just kiss him. “I had to be sure I could trust you. And besides, why would you want to be called Mia when Miana is such a beautiful name?” He asked, before he brushed his lips against her teasingly. “You're just saying that to get into my pants,” she exhaled sharply as his hands ran down her body. “So?”

 

 

**MEANWHILE, IN FRONT OF THE ONE WORLD CENTER**

Fallon had been all over the city, it was nearing 1 AM and she still hadn't found him. She racked her brain, trying to remember all of their spots from all of the dates they'd ever been on. There wasn't a coveted spot that she hadn't turned upside down in her search, but knowing the God of Mischief, he could be invisible, walking around the city and pulling down people's pants for fun. She rolled her eyes and dug deep in her pocket, looking around at the bustling bodies of all the freaks who did indeed come out at night. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialed Mia for the fiftieth time and it rang out about five times before she heard the line pick up, muffled laughter coming from her best friend's end. “Mia? What– are you okay? I've been calling you for the past hour and a half.” Fallon said, eyebrows raised as she listened intently. “Huh... yeah, I'm just... you just... this is a _bad time_ ,” she stifled another laugh and then a moan managed to escape her and Fallon pulled the straightest face ever. “Are you fucking serious right now? You are not having sex!” She growled, slightly annoyed that she was trudging around the city alone, looking for a guy who clearly didn't want to be found and calling a best friend who clearly wanted to rack up missed call notifications on her iPhone.

There was silence from Mia's end and then Bucky's voice came into her ear as he said, “She'll call you back later,” voice deep with arousal. The called ended with a click and Fallon gaped, eyes narrowing with rage as she stared at her bright screen. She immediately scrolled down and dialed Steve who picked up after the second ring. “Fallon? Is everything okay?” Steve asked, sounding a bit distracted. “Yes, Mia won't answer the phone and it's an emergency and I _really really_ need her. She's with Bucky... in...in his room.” Steve was silent and it sounded like Sam and Natasha were protesting to him exiting the room. They were probably gambling, which didn't surprise her. However, Natasha being there was quite the conundrum.

There was the sound of shoes hitting hardwood, she assumed it was Steve climbing a staircase, and then there was the sound of hard knocking on a wooden door. “Mia, I know you two are probably preoccupied but Fallon sounds really upset and like she needs your–” The sound of his voice was cut off by the bedroom door opening and then his phone was snatched. “Fine, what's wrong?” Mia asked, a bit out of breath and Fallon was too afraid to even imagine what she looked like at that moment. “I've been trudging around the city looking for Loki and I need help. I need him, okay. He's the only one who can tell me exactly what my father has planned.”

She could practically hear Mia furrowing her brow over the phone, a look of confusion firmly on her beautiful face, “What do you mean? You think there's more than what you told Steve?” Fallon sighed, “Yeah, maybe... and I'm really scared. I think it has to do with me.”

“I highly doubt your dad would hurt you, Fallon. He may be mean but he's not heartless or evil,” Mia tried to reassure. Fallon tried to swallow but there was a golf ball-sized lump in her throat, “I don't know, Mia.” Mia was silent for a few minutes before she said, “Hey, you give it another fifteen minutes with trying to find _you know who_ and if you can't, bring your butt over to Sam's. He lives in Harlem, Steve will text you the address. We can talk about all of this then, with the others. Actually, even if you do find him, still come over. You don't need to be alone in that house, tonight.” Fallon gave her dimply half-smile and nodded even though the other girl couldn't see her and responded with, “Okay, thanks. And hey, don't do anything I wouldn't do.” The other girl chuckled, “And what wouldn't you do, again?”

Fallon rolled her eyes, “Goodbye, Mia.” She didn't wait for a reply or for Steve to take his phone back, she just hung up and sighed, feeling as if there was this gigantic weight on her shoulders. “Everyone is having sex but me,” She said softly and absent-mindedly with a touch of bitterness. “You know, that could be resolved,” said a voice from behind her. She rolled her eyes and turned around to strike him, her fist connecting with his shoulder.

“OUCH!” Loki complained.

“Shut up! It's not like you don't deserve far worse than that! You disappeared and _left me there_ , knowing what he has planned for me!” Fallon tried to keep the hurt off of her face but failed miserably. He stepped closer to her and she stepped back, earning a few glances from passerby's who looked like they'd just left a club. Though Loki was in regular street clothes, she wouldn't be surprised if a random citizen recognized him. “I've been with you this whole time, unseen of course. You have no right to be angry with me after kissing that lab experiment in the wine cellar,” Loki retorted. Fallon rolled her eyes at his petty jealousy, “Well, you broke up with me, remember? And then you _erased yourself_ from my memory. Steve would never do that to me.”

Loki laughed. Actually fucking laughed. “Because one, he doesn't have the power to do so. And two, he's so weak I doubt he'd have it in him to be able to even if he could.” She slapped him across the face, taking him by surprise, and it made her so happy to see his stupid grin disappear. “You know, being able to break my heart slash hurt me is nothing to brag about you childish, immature, inconsiderate, assho–” He steered her off of the sidewalk and silenced her with his mouth. It was more than a kiss, though, it was his expression of the claim he had on her. She didn't even fight him on it, her hands running up into his hair as a moan escaped her mouth. His hands roamed her body, taking extra time to caress the curve of her ass and then made their way back up again. He pulled away from her, briefly biting at her lip, and stared deeply into her eyes, “That's what a real kiss feels like. Our passion wasn't forced because it's real, the love we share is real.”

“Then start acting like it, and tell me everything I need to know, Odinson.” She quickly replied, just above a whisper. A ghost of a smile played at his lips as he looked down at her, “Why do you call me that?” “Because he was your father, no matter what the two of you have said or done,” She shrugged her shoulders, “The man I fell in love with was Loki Odinson, and you're still him.... somewhere in there.”

Loki paused, weighing her words. He looked away from her briefly, eyes flitting to a group of people passing by on the sidewalk who looked like they might recognize him if they were a bit soberer. “Fine, I'll tell you everything, we just have to get somewhere where it's safe for us to talk.”

Fallon nodded, “I know just the place.”

 

  
**MEANWHILE, IN "BUCKY'S ROOM”**

“ _Yes_ ,” Mia whimpered as Bucky held her down, his mechanical arm pinning both of her wrists above her head and against the headboard. “You like that?” He asked, teeth scraping down on the delicate flesh of her breast as he rolled his hips against hers, driving himself deeper into her. She groaned and threw her head back, panting, “Don't stop.”

“I don't intend to,” Bucky said as he quickened his pace and ground further into her. The two of them had been mindlessly at each other for the last two hours and nothing had pulled them apart indefinitely. But his eyes turned a piercing blue and his merciless thrusting had stopped, both his hands meeting her neck. Her eyes bulged with fear and she tried to grasp at him but that damned whirring noise coming from his arm was the only thing she got as a response while he tightened his grip. “B-Bucky,” she gasped, confused before he started thrusting again, harder this time. She could feel the life draining from her, or maybe it was an impending black out, but she refused to look at him. His face was flushed and his eyes a scary shade of blue, his breathing out of control. If she was going to die, she'd at least die looking at a piece of the New York skyline, her eyes diverting to the open windows, being met with the bright light of a Baylor Corporations sign on the side of a building.

Just mere seconds after she orgasmed, she could feel her body growing weaker, his impending climax approaching. Though the dark was beckoning her, a blast shook the whole back side of Sam's home and all the buildings surrounding it. The shattering of all the windows within reach snapped Bucky out of his mind-control. The two of them went flying from the bed, landing softly within each other's arms. Bucky held Mia closely, whispering his apologies as he glimpsed the dark marks around her neck and heard her coughing.

 

 

  
**MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE**

  
Not even two moments before the explosion, a seemingly foreign voice inside of Fallon told her that something bad would happen. She turned her head back toward the building with the Baylor logo, only two blocks away, and yelled out to Loki who was a few feet behind her, back facing where she somehow knew the blast would come from. Her words were made inaudible by the blast but Loki's thought process was faster, he caught sight of the Baylor building on their way into Sam's neighborhood and he had read and heard about _The Phoenix_ going around blowing up different divisions and buildings which belonged to said company, so when he caught the look on Fallon's face he instantly knew. He leaped forward, taking on his frost giant appearance and covered Fallon completely as he tackled her to the ground, hoping to avoid any heat from the explosion getting to her, along with debris.

He knew that the blast would not leave him unscathed but he didn't care, all that mattered to him in that moment was her safety. After a few moments of searing heat which seemed to engulf her and steal away her breath from all directions, she looked up at Loki. He had this look on his face, a look she couldn't quite place, blue skin looking immaculate and his body the only solace she could find in the blistering Harlem street.

When the aftershocks died down, the former lovers laid there, staring at one another. “Are you okay?” Loki asked raggedly. Fallon squirmed beneath him, finally looking around and taking notice of the citizens filing out into the streets to see the aftermath of the explosion. “I’m fine… You didn't have to… We have to get you inside before someone recognizes you,’ she said, moving to get up from underneath him, heading straight for Sam’s front door. Loki was right behind her in an instance, back to his human form, limping from the wounds the explosion left upon him. “Knock, knock, bitches,” Fallon whispered harshly as she pounded on the door. No sooner than her fist left the mahogany, Natasha was opening the door, face going from worried to furious in .2 seconds.

“Oh, fuck, no!” Natasha exclaimed, moving to hit Loki in the same breath. Fallon was quicker, though, and immediately blocked her. “I can’t let you do that, Nat. We need to get inside, I promise that I’ll explain everything.” Natasha hesitated, a skeptical expression gracing her lovely features. She was going to open her mouth, probably to protest, but was stopped from speaking when a scream filtered it’s way into being. The scream was coming from inside the house. Fallon pushed past Natasha, knowing almost immediately, who the scream belonged to. Loki followed the two women, cautiously, shutting the front door behind him. He still hadn’t finished healing all the way and he was kind of exposed, his entire back side easily seen through the burn holes of his basic street wear.

Fallon frantically moved toward the commotion in Sam’s living room. “Mia! Are you okay?!” She said, the concern clear in her voice and etched onto her face. For a few moments her words were illegible, but she was back to screaming when an equally scathed Bucky appeared. “What did you do to her, you sick fuck?!” Fallon asked, launching herself at him, only to be intercepted by Steve. “Maybe let him speak before lunging at him,” Cap said. Bucky ran his fingers through his hair, sad and confused eyes meeting Mia as Natasha was working hard to console her, “I don’t know what happened to me…I..”

“You tried to kill me!” Mia shot, baffled at how he could possibly forget.

Fallon's eyebrows shot upward, “He what?!”

The Winter Soldier’s eyes widened and it took all of the self-control that young Fury had within her to keep from lunging at him again, “I would never do that, that's not who I am anymore!”

“Save it for the judge, jury, and executioner,” Fallon spat.

His eyes shifted back and forth, looking for anyone to believe him. Steve opened his mouth to speak but it was someone else who beat him to it. “It wasn't him,” Loki said, before letting out a disinterested sigh. Fallon whipped her head around to look at the man who was behind her, eyes narrowing dangerously low. “Excuse me?” She asked, voice sounding absolutely venomous.

“It was Thanos,” he shot back at her, annoyed that it wasn't obvious to the untrained eye. Loki moved his eyes from Fallon to her rightfully distressed BFF, “His eyes… Did they change?”

Mia only nodded.

“See. However, I will be the first to say that this attack seems far too personal to be the big man himself, not to mention we would have seen him. It has to be someone else, someone else has the scepter.” Loki ended his mini rant, eyes showing great concentration. He was thinking. Hard.

Fallon shook her head, breaking him out of his stupor, “Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you're the only person I know who has mastered the art of invisibility. You also just happen to be in a room full of people who hate you, spewing nonsense about unseen foes.”

“Yes… But I have an alibi. Or need I remind you of our very heated lip-lock in front of the One World Trade Center?” He said smoothly, a smirk on his face.

Fallon gaped as a few confused inquiries were thrown about the room, especially from Natasha. “Ignore him, he’s lying,” She said, trying to recover as quickly as possible.

“So, he wasn't with you?” Sam asked.

She rolled her eyes, “No, he was.”

Steve looked angry, far angrier than she expected him to, but she couldn't say she didn't know why, “Why should we believe anything he says?”

“Not only did he just defend your best friend, who I was more than willing to crucify, but he’s also the one who told me about my fathers plans to reboot SHIELD. That's why you trust him. He’s on our side,” Fallon shot, eyes hard as she assessed each person in the room.

She looked at Natasha, “I know you're on Nick’s side…but what I just said doesn't leave this room. _Do you understand me_?”

The spy hesitated before nodding in agreement.

“Good, now let's get this place cleaned up.”

 

 

**MEANWHILE, IN ASGARD**

Thor thought of all the ways this could go gravely awry. What if these people weren't taking him to Heimdall? Or, if they were, what if Heimdall was angry with him for abandoning them all those years ago? His mind raced with thoughts of the negative variety, so distracted that he hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings. He was home, finally, back to his beloved palace. The Asgardians set him on his feet far more gently than he was anticipating. He looked out at them, their hollow and sad faces, their eyes filled with hope. “Thank you,” was all he could manage to say. Before any of the common folk could utter a word, they were scurrying away, a shadow casting over them from behind Thor. He slowly turned around.

He opened his mouth to speak to his old friend, “Heimda-“

Before he could finish speaking, he was down on the ground from a single hit to the face. Everything went dark.

 

* * *

 

 

“Did you have to knock him unconscious?” Fandral droned, voice tinged with a bit of curiosity.

Heimdall chuckled, “No.”

“Next time you decide to do this, you are hoisting the victim all on your own,” The petite blonde male sassed, “Thor is far from miniature.”

Thor groaned at the mention of his name, eyes flickering open. He was in the throne room.

“Rise and shine, your grace,” Fandral said sarcastically.

The former heir to the throne sat up so quickly, he caught a rush to his head. “What has happened?” He questioned.

Fandral was at his side, almost immediately. “ We know why you’re here, Heimdall has been watching.” He omitted Heimdall being the culprit for his unconsciousness. Thor looked around, almost feverishly, eyes locking with Heimdall who was at least a good seven feet away from him. “Heimdall… I ..”

The tall, rugged, and very handsome black man raised a hand to silence the prince. “Save it for another time, we must get you to The Fallen by sun up. They leave to another realm next nightfall for a traditional six-month gathering. There are Fallen who live in other realms, scattered across the nine like stars in the sky. They leave on the same calendar date, every Earth year, between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice.”

“What is the significance of that date?” Thor asked, eyes narrowing as he thought.

Heimdall stepped forward and shook his head, “It does not matter. We must leave now, they live near the border of Vanaheim and the Asgardian Mountains, we must get you there before it is too late.”

 

 

**MEANWHILE, AT SAM’S HOUSE**

  
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Fallon asked, eyebrows merging at the ridiculous look Loki was fixing her with.

He shook his head. “Oh, no reason. I just…while I was gone, I retrieved something for you,” The God said, pausing a moment later.

She narrowed her eyes, looking up at him from where they stood, in Sam’s dimly-lit foyer. “Loki..” She chastised, through gritted teeth.

“You don’t have to look at it in this very moment… I just…”

“Keep it,” she said simply before casting her eyes downward. She didn’t exactly know where she stood with him emotionally, but she knew that as long as her father insisted on marrying her off, being with Loki wasn’t an option.

He started to walk towards her but Natasha and Steve emerged from the living room, sleeves still rolled up from all the cleaning they’d been doing, in the aftermath of the explosion. “Hey…” Steve said cautiously.

Natasha gave young Fury a fairly confused look after a few seconds of glancing between the odd pair.

“Hey,” Fallon sighed, ignoring Natasha until the woman started speaking. “What time do you have to be home?”

Fallon pretended to think, rubbing her hand across her forehead and leaving a streak of ash in its wake. “Well, I was going to spend what's left of the night, even if that explosion turned this place into what looks like a war zone. I have to be back first thing in the morning, though…”

“Oh?” Steve asked, sounding slightly disappointed. Fallon could hear Loki, behind her, laughing lightly. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes or hitting him. “Yeah… Dick-rector Fury wants me to meet my fiancé… Or soon-to-be… Whatever.”

Natasha stiffened, she’d clearly known about the whole Richie Baylor situation, especially if she was in the know about rebooting SHIELD.

Fallon watched her briefly before bringing her attention back to Steve, who looked ailed, to say the least. “He what?”

Fallon waved off his concern, “It’s just a thing we had worked out, when I was younger. My father knew that I despised the idea of being someone's faithful little trophy wife. He told me that if I made academia my sole priority, then I’d be able to go and travel, see the world, and then marry for love if the time ever came when I wasn't absolutely repulsed by it,” She paused, “However, if I let school become unimportant to me, then he would marry me off to the highest bidder. Richard Baylor, Sr benefits him the most, especially with his plans to reboot SHIELD. He was the number one investor when the organization was still fully operational, that's what Bruce told me.”

Natasha looked uncomfortable, but Fallon applauded her for remaining apart of the conversation. “So.. His son… Have you ever met him?”

Fallon nodded, “I went to school with him, before my father sent me off to boarding school. He’s the scum of the Earth, this guy. He’s even, on more than one occasion, outright said he hated people like us. Said we’re all vigilantes and science experiments that deserve to rot in hell.”

“Sounds like a real charmer,” Steve said, clearly displeased.

“He used to rip the heads off of my Barbie dolls,” Fallon said plainly.

“Yeesh,” Natasha added.

Loki walked up to be closer to them. “Well, engagement or not, I wish you all the happiness in the world, birthday girl,” he said plainly, wandering off soon after.

With everything going on, Fallon had completely forgotten. That wasn’t the only thing she’d forgotten, either.

 

 

**MEANWHILE, IN ASGARD**

Coming through a clearing in the mountains, a beautiful sunrise at their backs, the three men looked down at a surprisingly busy city. It was a small city, considering that it's outer perimeter was completely abandoned, but they were a harmonious group of people if Thor did ever see one. “We can not go any further, you must go on without us,” Heimdall said, the grave sound of his voice sending chills up and down Thor’s back. He nodded and as he went to walk toward the city, toward the information he so desperately needed to save both his worlds, Fandral said, “Good luck, we will be waiting here.”

He didn't bother questioning their choice to stay behind, he figured they knew it would be possibly taken as a threat if the Fallen were visited by three high-ranking Asgardian men. Upon reaching the inner layer of the city, he was greeted by a man who could only be the leader of the people he was there to extract answers from. The man before him was old and greying, skin paler than anything Thor had ever seen. “Do you know where you are?”

Thor looked confused so the elder continued speaking. “This was once the land of the Vanir,” the old man croaked, a faint smile on his lips. Thor looked around, remembering bits and pieces of the historical events that took place on the very soil where he stood. “We’ve been expecting you, Thor Odinson,” the man turned away, “follow me, if you want your answers. We do not have long, Asgardian Prince.”

The man started walking to a nearby building, it was small compared to Asgardian homes, but it reminded him a lot of the buildings and homes that he’d seen on Earth. Upon entering the cozy abode, he was instantly ushered to sit down in one of the many wooden chairs that were lined up in rows. The room took up the entire building and looked akin to a classroom, a single chair facing all the others at the front of the room.

"Our young learn all they need to know about the galaxy in this very room, so I presumed it would be fitting for you to ask your questions here. In my eyes, you are still very young Odinson,” the elder said, green eyes piercing Thor’s blue ones.

Thor sat quietly for a moment before turning to look at the two buff youngsters standing near the door where he’d come in. They were surely bodyguards so he assumed he was right about the old man being the leader of the Fallen. He cleared his throat, “You are the leader of these people, no?”

“I am simply the oldest living of the Fallen, as you like to call us, in the realm. They look to me for guidance and wisdom. It is also my job to keep them informed of the tales from our past, the things that were foreseen and have yet come to pass. Some of them believe me without a doubt, which can be quite terrifying, and others… Well, others don't, do they?”

Thor narrowed his eyes, “Is that what happened with Theoric?”

The elder’s eyes glazed over as if trying to remember, Thor could tell that it didn't really take him all that much effort, though. “Theoric was apart of a foreseeing in which he didn’t come out victorious, he sought to change that. He went against his people because he felt cheated by fate.”

“Do you have anything that could help me identify him, a portrait, maybe?” Thor asked after digesting what the elder had said.

The old man opened his mouth to speak but then a woman entered the room, blue eyes hard and accusatory. “Alek!” The woman said sternly, “What is the meaning of this?!” She came into Thor’s line of sight, long back-length hair gone completely grey, her frame incredibly small.

“Oxana, this is Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard. He’s here because he needs our help to –”  
“To capture our son..” She interrupted, anger still well in place on her beautiful face. She turned to him and almost reminded him of his own mother. “Come with me, young Prince.” 

 

* * *

 

 

Oxana escorted Thor to a much bigger home, weaving through the bustling streets all the way there, eyes of her people glued to him with every step he took. As he reached the front door, the older woman turned to him and gave a hard look, “You bring him home for punishment, do you understand me?” He nodded, though he knew he couldn't possibly make her any promises. His entire team would still be out for Theoric’s blood even if he were not. Stepping into the house, Thor marveled at the architecture and décor and, deep inside of him, he knew that it's beauty was far superior to the gaudy exterior and interior of his beloved palace. Oxana’s home was something he knew Jane had imagined, for herself, many many times.

“This way,” she said, heading toward a room to their right off the entrance. “Portraits are in the study,” she added, once they arrived to the room, and immediately set to looking through her desk drawer.

Thor stood in the doorway with his hands clasped, occasionally glancing around at the books that made up the entire wall. “They are books that contain our history,” she said, without looking up at him. He couldn't even respond to her before she said, “Aha! Here it is, we had this drawn up before he…”

He watched her face change, the hurt visible there, and he couldn't help but imagine that very look on his fathers face. “You are not any different than him, you left your people behind with no regard to what it would do to them,” she chastised quietly.

Blond eyebrows merged in confusion, his stance becoming slightly defensive at the comparison being made between he and Theoric. “I left for love,” he admonished.  
“And so did he,” she said, eyes watery as she handed over the canvas likeness of her son.

Thor took the painting, eyes doing little to mask his confusion. Before he could ask her what she meant by that, Alek was in the doorway to the study, clearing his throat. “It is time for you to go, Odinson,” the old man said, softly.

“I think you are correct,” Thor retorted before leaving their study, their home, and their little bustling city of lost souls. He made it back to Heimdall and Fandral with time to spare, they'd reach the city limits by nightfall, their handy boat to thank for that. He was more than looking forward to heading back through the bifrost.

He clutched the painting in his hands, curious to who might be hiding inside.

 


	11. Chapter 10

  
**CHAPTER TEN**

 

 

Fallon woke up in a bed that was not her own, the realization frightening her for a few moments before she remembered the events of the night before. She stretched and rolled over to find Natasha beside her, eying her curiously.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” she said sarcastically before rolling onto her back, completely exhausted. It looked like she had not granted either of her fathers requests; she hadn't come home at a respectable hour and she was not well-rested.

“You’re hiding something,” the spy said.

The younger of the two shook her head, “No, not really. I do, however, need to be going.”

She climbed out of the bed, feet almost touching the ground and the shards of broken glass that awaited them. “What the fuck, Nat! This glass wasn't here last night.” Natasha rolled from the bed, without a word, and left the room. Fallon somehow knew this wouldn't be the end of that.

Bypassing the ocean of glass on her side of the bed, Fury managed to get up and dressed. She threw her grey hoodie back on, bed hair effectively hidden in the process. Making her way downstairs she heard Steve and the others on a conference call with her father and Stark. She walked to the living room doorway, not very pleased to hear the morning news breaking coverage of the early morning explosion. Loki was beside her in an instance, “Happy birthday.”

“There is absolutely nothing happy about today,” she said, barely above a whisper. Their eyes met.

 

**********

 

Fallon got home in record time, a slightly traumatized Mia in tow. “Don't mention anything about what happened last night, not to my father, okay?” Fallon said softly. Mia only nodded as they walked through the front door. Her father was still talking very animatedly with his troops, making it very clear that he wanted The Phoenix’s head. Fallon was, quite frankly, happy to have something take the majority of his focus off of her.

The two girls went upstairs and showered in their bathrooms. Afterwards, Fallon enlisted her best friend to help her pick out a suitable outfit for her breakfast with the Baylor men. “I'm surprised that, with all that is going on, they didn't cancel this thing,” Mia droned as she sifted through Fallon’s wardrobe.

Fallon smirked. “Well, a string of blown up warehouses and headquarters means nothing. If this deal goes according to plan, with my father’s assistance, Baylor will be able to rebuild and regain everything he’s lost with the snap of a finger,” she explained, looking at what shoes Mia had picked out for her, a disinterested look on her face.

"Really? Red?” She asked, turning away from the shoes at the foot of her bed, facing Mia more directly.

Mia popped her head from out of the closet, “Too slutty?”

Fallon scrunched her nose in thought. “It depends on what dress you're going to pick? Red is just super vibrant for brunch.”

“We can pair it with this little red salsa dress. We can do something understated to your hair, though.” Mia came out of the closet, holding a dress she couldn't possibly have known belonged to Fallon's mother.

“I-I don't know…”

“C’mon, heffa, you’ve gotta make the men speechless. Put it on.” Shoving the dress toward her best friend she didn't even notice the grim expression on her face. The look was gone just as quickly as it had come.

Fallon sighed, stepping in front of her full-length mirror. “Well, it is my birthday, so… why not?”

“Good girl. Twenty-five looks good on you, so far.” Mia stretched and stood next to Fallon proudly “My work here is done” Mia said, sounding quite satisfied with herself.

Fallon turned her head quickly, eyes leaving her reflection to find the woman beside her, “Hey, don't wander off too far. Nick texted me that he wants to speak with you privately, after brunch.”

“You got it, dude.”

  
**********

 

“So, your father tells me that you majored in Astrophysics,” said a very well-manicured and handsome man in his early to mid-sixties, his eyes not meeting her as he made it his sole priority to grab more of Hilda’s gourmet breakfast foods.

“Yes,” Fallon replied, not even trying to keep the disinterest from oozing out of her, “But that won’t do me any good, now.”

The youngest of the two Baylor men snorted and it took all of Fallon’s energy to ignore him.

“Nonsense. You were mere months away from completion of your degree.” Richard Baylor, Sr. locked eyes with her, emotionless grey eyes melding with their carefully calculating counterparts.

“Yes, but jobs don't really care about participation ribbons,” Fallon quipped, a tiny smirk on her face.

“They do when you're daughter to a high-ranking government official and wife to the heir of a multi-billion dollar corporation,” Sr. replied, in between bites of bacon.

“Oh, nepotism!” Fallon playfully exclaimed as she sat back in her chair and fanned herself with her hand in a dramatic fashion. She wanted to make a further rebuttal but, from their places at opposite ends of the table, her eyes met with her father’s. His eyes pled for restraint and surrender. It had been a long time coming, but for the first time in her life, she actually decided to give him what he wanted.

Without a moment of hesitation, a nearly contagious mega-watt smile spread across Fallon’s face. “You’re right, though…” she said to Baylor Sr. who nodded in appreciation. Instead of keeping the conversation going, she decided to take a dainty bite of the piece of toast before her.

The calm that started to resonate within her didn't last for long. The vile and insipid creature to the left of her snorted again and she clenched her free fist under the table.

“So does that mean you accept my proposal?”

“Oh, Richie…dear. You'd have to propose first,” she said slyly, a smirk on her face as she looked at him. His face was hard and she could swear she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes; something she'd seen before. A moment later, he gave her a dazzling smile, but the glimmers in his eyes were still there. She took a moment to take him in. His pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes never ceased to give her an aryan vibe. He was literally the poster child for all-American daddies boys everywhere. To be polite though, Fallon returned a smile of her own, a secret smile, a smile that said _you will never have me_.

She could fool the Baylor men, but deep down she knew that her father wasn't buying one second of her charade. But it didn't matter. Whether or not she was acting was irrelevant, so long as she went along with his command.

Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore of the nicey-nice, Richard’s phone chirped to life and brought everyone's attention to it. He pulled it from his suit pocket and glanced at it, his face becoming steely. “Sorry, Fury. Looks like the boy and I are needed elsewhere.”

Fallon stood immediately yet gracefully and offered her hand to Sr. “Oh, it's perfectly understandable,” she started, smiling profusely as her supposed future father-in-law grabbed a hold of her hand, “What happened to your company today was a tragedy.”

Before her father could even say anything, the trio was around the table and heading to the foyer, “Here, let me walk you both to your car,” he could hear her say before they were all out of sight. Nick then pulled out his phone to make a call of his own, to one Mia St. Germain.

 

 

**MEANWHILE OUTSIDE**

 

“It was really lovely meeting you,” Fallon said, waving to Richard Sr. as they slid into their car. She didn't expect a response and she didn't get one either. As the car pulled out of the driveway, she stood and watched, a fake smile plastered on her face. After they were gone, she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She looked flustered and she felt like her entire body was on fire. Sweat beaded down her forehead and she moved to wipe it away at once.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she retreated into her own thoughts. How could she have possibly forgotten her own birthday? Nothing much had changed in her 25 years of life, her father had also forgotten. “Honey?” Hilda called out to her, sweet voice drifting into Fallon’s ears. Fallon turned around to find her mother figure peeking from the front door, a look of worry on her face.

“Sorry. Yes, Hilda? Did you need something?”

Hilda’s expression only grew more worrisome. “I’ve been calling for you for a while now. Your father has summoned young Mia and Dr. Foster to accompany you to a boutique on the upper east side,” She paused, the words seeming to pain her as they left her. “He also set up an appointment with an event planning assistant.”

Fallon’s eyes widened briefly, the realization that all of this was really happening weighed on her. After a moment, she nodded in response to hearing how her day would be spent. “Thank you, Hilda. I’ll be inside in just a moment. If you wouldn’t mind setting out a casual outfit for me, I’d really appreciate it.”

Hilda nodded, a smile lighting her features. “Of course, dear. Anything for the birthday girl.”

Fallon wore an expression of surprise, but before she could say anything, Hilda had vanished back into their home.

“Happy Birthday..” She whispered to herself, looking up toward the sky, wondering what her mother would say if she could see her now.

 

**********

 

“This is complete and utter bullshit,” Mia muttered, trailing close behind Fallon as she browsed the racks of designer wedding gowns.

The taller of the two rolled her eyes, steadily sifting for something that she would like to be seen walking down an aisle in. “Relax, it’ll be fine.”

Jane looked around the boutique, barely paying the other women any mind.

“I honestly can’t believe you’re saying that. Your father is literally marrying you off to a monster and he’s making me plan the event!”

Fallon halted her movements and turned to her best friend. “Snap the hell out of it. The only reason I’m not letting this upset me is because I know it won’t work out.”

Jane furrowed her brows at that, finally bringing her attention to the other women.“Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean by that?” Jane asked, her curiosity piqued beyond belief.

Fallon sighed and turned her attention to the older woman. “I just don’t see this ending in marriage is all. My father so rarely gets what he wants.”

Jane wanted to press for more but decided not to, for which Fallon was grateful. She didn’t know if Jane already knew what ascension was and she sure as hell wasn’t going to say anything about it to her if she didn’t.

Mia pouted and eventually spoke again, “Sooo… are you finding anything that catches your eye?”

Fallon side-eyed her friend while still rummaging through racks. “Hell no. I always figured I’d have a custom gown,” she said absently.

Mia smirked, “I can’t believe you actually ever thought about it…”

“At first, I didn’t. I never saw much need to. I thought every man was just like my father and that a husband would only disappoint me the way he did…” She trailed off, moving over to another section of the small boutique, both ladies on her trail.

“But then?” Jane asked, making it a point to stay engaged with the conversation. Fallon appreciated it.

She smiled faintly, pausing as she pulled a dress off of a rack and held it high in the air to examine it. “Well, then Loki happened.” She lowered the dress and looked them both in their eyes, gauging their reactions as she held the dress up to her slender frame.

Both women shared a look, before actually taking the time to acknowledge the dress. “I think that one is good, but you could do better,” Jane said. And for a moment, Fallon wondered if her words had a double meaning. After placing the dress back and continuing her hunt, she spoke again, “I know none of you see him the way that I do. But I’ve known Loki a long time, I trust him and I trust that he would never hurt me.”

The women were silent again.

“Admittedly, I was only sixteen when I started thinking about the possibility of us being married. And that seems like an entirely different lifetime.”

“Is that because you’re still a little hazy when it comes to remembering things? You know, because Loki literally erased your memory?” Mia asked, not even trying to contain her shade.

Fallon shot a look at her that could kill. “At least he didn’t try to kill me,” she shot back, very uncharacteristically.

Mia looked hurt for only a second. What her friend said was technically true, but Bucky was under the control on Thanos and the scepter. “Hoe, don’t take your anger out on me,” Mia shot back, firm but playful. Fallon rolled her eyes.

Jane smiled softly at the exchange, it reminded her of she and Darcy. “For what it’s worth, I think you and Loki make a fine couple,” Jane said, holding a dress up to herself just to see what it would look like. Mia and Fallon looked at one another, smiles on their faces, and then back at her. “Thank you. And for what it’s worth, I think you should be the one walking down an aisle. Not me.”

Jane’s face grew flushed. “Me? No way. I don’t think Thor has even thought about it.”

Fallon sidled closer to her, “Of course he has. He’d have to be crazy not to. You look stunning, doc.”

“Too bad if you guys actually get married, you’ll have to settle for wearing someones drapes instead of a New York designer,” Mia said, absently examining her fingernails.

Fallon threw a hat with a veil attached to it at Mia’s head. All three women burst out laughing.

 

**********

 

Leaving the shop without any options unsettled her more than anything else. But Mia was in an in depth discussion about decor with the event planning aide, her phone practically glued to her head as they walked the New York Streets. Jane was taking notes, glancing over at her and smiling every now and again. Fallon let off a sigh, her eyes widening slightly when she caught sight of a very familiar man at a nearby food cart. She looked at Jane, trying to play it cool, “You two can head back to the manor. I’m going to look at one more shop.” Jane was so busy trying to keep up with Mia that she nodded in agreement without bothering to question anything.

Fallon jogged after the retreating figure, making sure to always stay at least a few heads behind him. What was he up to?

Bucky had a kind of swagger to his walk, it was unmistakable. As she neared closer to him, she felt her veins catch fire and could hear her heart beating in her ears. Her breath became shallow and she could feel something happening to her. She was so close to him, so close she could feel him in the grasp of her hand. Just as she reached out to grab him, someone grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. Before she knew what happened, she was pressed up against a cool brick wall.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She tried to gather her wits, and eventually she did. When she glanced up, she was met with icy blue eyes and a towering jacked figure. Steve was pressing against her, his weight fighting to keep her in place. Was she squirming? He waited for something, glancing in her eyes, and she could feel them change back to their normal state. “Steve…”

“Don’t… save it. I don’t know what you’re up to but leave Bucky out of it,” he said through gritted teeth, and by the look in his eyes she could tell he hated to have to even say it.

She looked flustered, her body seeming to meld perfectly to his. Had it been another place or another time, and she had been another girl, she could have really saw herself falling for him. “It’s not what you think,” She managed to croak. He waited patiently for her to answer but her mind was hazy and she had no idea what was happening to her. In a pinch, she decided to knee him right in the ball so that she could at least escape him long enough to get herself in order. He went falling to the ground, veins popping in his forehead, the pain she caused him becoming very real. She went to flee but only managed to get a few blocks before she collapsed. She woke up in front of a Starbucks, a bunch of girls surrounding her, wearing scout uniforms. “Give her some space to breathe,” Said a voice that she didn’t expect to be hearing so soon. She fluttered her eyes and focused, it was Thor all dressed up in street attire.

He leaned down to help her up. Helping her stand wasn’t an easy feat so he gathered her into his arms. “I’ll escort her to the nearest hospital,” He said gruffly, assuring the little girls that he would take good care of the damsel in distress. Fallon wanted to keep her head up but it lolled to the side, resting on his shoulder as he carried her away from the worried little faces.

She drifted off to sleep, and when she woke up, she was still in the arms of her savior. However, there was something very different about him now. “You gave me quite the fright, Fury,” his voice said to her as he continued to carry her toward her front steps. She didn’t reply to him. “Should I have someone call a doctor?” He said, worry furrowing his brow as his slightly green orbs looked down at her. “No,” she croaked. Loki sat down on the porch, holding her in his arms and helping her to sit up.

“Hey, talk to me. What were you doing back there?”

“What I'm best at doing. Making a fool of myself."

He smiled a little. “I imagine the star-spangly one is in worse shape than you are.”

She gasped, looking at him fully, “You saw that?”

He only nodded in reply. “And as much as I love a good lap dance, I don’t think it wise for us to be found in this compromising position, you being an engaged woman and all.” She nodded a bit, in agreement. He carefully placed her down on the step, his arm still there to help her keep steady.

“I think it’s happening to me…” She said after a few beats of silence.

Loki’s eyes were alight, giving her a once over. “How can you be so sure? Maybe it’s something else.”

“What else could it be?” She snapped, eyes hard as they met his.

He looked away from her as if in thought, “Stress, maybe.”

Fallon eyed him curiously, thinking back to the night before, when he’d snuck into her room and they talked. It was the first time, in a long time that she felt like she wasn’t alone. She told him about ascension, about her fear of her fathers plans, everything. He told her all the information he had from snooping and lurking in the dark corners and recesses of people’s minds. However, after that she could tell there was just a little more he was keeping from her and it slowly ate away at her. She had other things to worry about, though. Their late night rendezvous, while special, was probably the reason Natasha was so adamant that Fallon was hiding something.

“It’s not ascension,” Loki whispered, his voice filled with conviction but she didn’t know who he was trying to reassure.

Fallon was about to fix her mouth to say something but before she could get it out, Loki took her hand and placed something in it. Before she could protest, he was gone, vanished into thin air. She looked down at her hand, opening it slowly to reveal the finest ring she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a diamond encrusted emerald that looked like an Asgardian heirloom. She smiled as she noticed it dangled from a silver chain. She quickly tied it around her neck and tucked it away beneath her oversized sweater.

“Happy Birthday,” she heard his voice say, seemingly carried by the wind. She smirked to herself before gathering slowly to her feet. She walked to the front door, slowly opening it to give herself a moment before seeing what chaos awaited.

 

**********

 

“Good work finding the son of a bitch,” Director Fury said, smiling at Thor as he held open a large parchment. “Now we can properly identify him.”

Thor stood before his superior, arms folded over his chest.

Fallon walked in from the foyer, slowly, cheeks kissed by the chilly outdoor air and slightly ruddy.

She took in the sight before her, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

The Avengers and co. were all gathered around, minus Bucky and Steve.

“I’ve already asked Heimdall to do a scan of the city as well, he is working on it. He promised to send Fandral when his assessment was complete,” He said, looking quite proud of himself.

Fallon hung back for as long as she could, her curiosity getting the best of her. Her father’s eyes found her, his hands closing the parchment he held  at once. She stiffened a little, all the other eyes in the room landing on her.

“Hey, it’s the birthday girl!” Jane said, her excitement probably a little misplaced.

Fallon looked at the woman who was coming toward her with open arms and once in the embrace, her eyes found her father again. He looked a bit perturbed to say the least, and it was probably because he’d forgotten her birthday, yet again. She smiled and hugged Jane back, finally. After the pleasantries were out of the way, Natasha smirked and said, “How old are you again? It seems like just yesterday when you were a gawky angsty teen in braces.”

"Yes, you’re making me feel old,” Stark chimed in.

“Don’t worry, guys. I hardly look legal, let alone 25. Your youth is safe with me,” Fallon joked, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

“How goes the wedding dress search?” Bruce asked, and she was honestly a little surprised that he’d even known about it. She eyed Jane who must have blabbed.

She sighed, “It’s going terribly, actually. I might just wear my mother’s dress…. She probably would’ve wanted that, anyway. And I’m honestly shocked it took me so long to think about it." She subconsciously started to retreat toward the staircase.

“Well, hey, kid… pull out your best evening attire for tomorrow, Pepper and I are having an engagement party,” Stark called out to her as he noticed her trying to hastily dip out of the room.

Fallon chuckled darkly, “Wow, she still wants to go through with the life-altering mistake of marrying you.”

A few others laughed while Tony feigned wounded, his hand clutching his chest.

“I’m just kidding. It took you guys long enough to throw this shindig. I’ll be there, with bells on,” Fallon quipped as she reached the staircase.

Tony nodded his consent. “It’s more of a ploy to draw this bastard Theoric out of hiding, but Pep does love a good party.”

“Well, nonetheless, I’m happy for you guys,” She said, about to say more but deciding to hurry up the stairs when she heard the front door opening. The last thing she needed was to see Steve or Bucky.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
